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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 120 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. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  6. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  9. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  10. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  22. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  23. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — a permit
  2. last — finally
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. march — the month
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. pass — to succeed
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. pass — to spend time
  9. stem — a stem cell
  10. wax — in the ear
  11. wound — an injury
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. stock — shares
  14. patient — calm and waiting
  15. stock — goods
  16. march — music
  17. wound — an injury
  18. march — the month
  19. last — to go on
  20. last — final
  21. stem — to come from
  22. wax — to grow
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. stem — of a plant

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