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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. The ________________ took off on time.
  2. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  3. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  4. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  5. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. I'll be taking the ________________.
  8. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. Have you met the new head ________________?
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  17. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.

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

Answer key

  1. plane — an aircraft
  2. pass — to succeed
  3. coach — pulled by horses
  4. drill — a practice
  5. pass — to spend time
  6. band — a ring
  7. tube — the underground
  8. tube — in a tire
  9. degree — from a university
  10. drill — army training
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. drill — the tool
  14. pass — a permit
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. plane — in geometry
  17. tube — a container
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. band — a music group
  20. wax — to grow
  21. degree — temperature
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. degree — an amount
  24. plane — a 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