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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. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  7. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. last — to go on
  3. pass — to spend time
  4. last — finally
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. pass — to succeed
  7. pass — a permit
  8. field — a subject
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. wax — to grow
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. band — a ring
  13. wake — a trail
  14. cold — not warm
  15. band — a music group
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. field — farmland
  18. wax — in the ear
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. stick — a piece of wood
  21. last — final
  22. stick — to attach or keep to
  23. cold — an illness
  24. band — a rubber band

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