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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. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  10. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  13. Did you ________________ the meat?
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  18. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  21. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  22. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  23. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  24. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. land — ground
  4. calf — of the leg
  5. cold — an illness
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. pass — a permit
  8. cold — not warm
  9. pass — to spend time
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. wax — to grow
  12. stick — to attach or keep to
  13. season — to add flavour
  14. land — to come down
  15. land — a country
  16. branch — a division
  17. wax — for sculpting
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. pass — to succeed
  21. branch — of a tree
  22. season — in sport
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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