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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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  4. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  10. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  11. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  14. Have you met the new head ________________?
  15. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  23. Did you ________________ the meat?
  24. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. land — a country
  3. root — the cause
  4. pass — to spend time
  5. last — finally
  6. season — of the year
  7. court — for sport
  8. land — to come down
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. pass — to succeed
  11. root — of a plant
  12. court — of a king
  13. coach — pulled by horses
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. root — of a word
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. court — of law
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. wax — to grow
  20. land — ground
  21. last — to go on
  22. pass — a permit
  23. season — to add flavour
  24. season — in sport

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