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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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Word bank
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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. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  3. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  4. Have you found your soul ________________?
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  12. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. My mare is ________________ in color.
  19. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — to succeed
  2. pass — to spend time
  3. bay — to keep at bay
  4. mate — a partner
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. mate — a friend
  7. cold — an illness
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. band — a music group
  10. land — to come down
  11. bay — a part of the sea
  12. pass — a permit
  13. cold — not warm
  14. wake — a trail
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. vault — a safe
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. bay — a horse colour
  19. vault — in gymnastics
  20. band — a ring
  21. land — a country
  22. vault — an arched ceiling
  23. land — ground
  24. mate — to breed

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