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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  4. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  5. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  6. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  7. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. Where did you ________________ them?
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  23. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. leaves — to go away
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. vault — a safe
  4. pass — a permit
  5. leaves — lets stay
  6. vault — an arched ceiling
  7. pass — to spend time
  8. last — final
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. pass — to succeed
  11. file — a line of people
  12. land — ground
  13. mug — to rob
  14. land — a country
  15. last — finally
  16. land — to come down
  17. mug — a cup
  18. file — a tool
  19. last — to go on
  20. mug — a face
  21. wax — to grow
  22. vault — in gymnastics
  23. leaves — of a tree
  24. file — a document

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com