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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. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  2. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  3. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  6. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  7. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. This piece is in a major ________________.
  18. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — to succeed
  2. drill — army training
  3. branch — of a tree
  4. stock — shares
  5. pass — to spend time
  6. drill — a practice
  7. drill — the tool
  8. cold — an illness
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. stock — goods
  11. key — for a lock
  12. hand — help
  13. wax — to grow
  14. branch — a division
  15. pass — a permit
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. key — in music
  18. key — the most important part
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. cold — not warm
  22. wax — in the ear
  23. hand — in cards
  24. branch — of a bank

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