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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: mate · staff · wave · last · game · band · pass · spring

  1. False peace will not ________________.
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  4. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  15. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. mate — a friend
  3. wave — a sudden rise
  4. staff — employees
  5. mate — a partner
  6. game — a match
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. last — finally
  9. spring — a coil
  10. staff — a stick
  11. spring — the season
  12. pass — to spend time
  13. game — wild animals
  14. wave — with your hand
  15. pass — to succeed
  16. band — a ring
  17. mate — to breed
  18. pass — a permit
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. staff — employees
  21. last — final
  22. spring — of water
  23. wave — of the sea
  24. band — a music group

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