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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. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  5. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  6. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  7. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  10. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  13. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  17. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  22. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  23. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  24. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — to succeed
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. wax — to grow
  4. staff — employees
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. bowl — to roll
  8. bat — the animal
  9. pass — a permit
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. bowl — a dish
  13. fan — to cool the air
  14. last — final
  15. last — to go on
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. staff — a stick
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. racket — a loud noise
  20. last — finally
  21. wax — for sculpting
  22. bowl — a football final
  23. staff — employees
  24. pass — to spend time

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