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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 116 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. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. She's very handy with a ________________.
  5. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  6. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  13. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  14. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  17. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  18. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  23. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  24. He works in a ________________ mill.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — a permit
  2. band — a music group
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. saw — the tool
  5. saw — past of 'see'
  6. track — to keep track
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. degree — temperature
  9. degree — an amount
  10. march — the month
  11. march — the month
  12. track — a song
  13. fork — in a road
  14. fork — a garden tool
  15. degree — from a university
  16. track — a path
  17. fork — to eat with
  18. pass — to succeed
  19. band — a ring
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. march — music
  22. wax — to grow
  23. pass — to spend time
  24. saw — the tool

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