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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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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: cold · board · cell · net · pass · wake · last · lean

  1. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  2. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  3. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  16. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  22. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to rest against
  2. pass — to spend time
  3. lean — to bend
  4. cold — an illness
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. net — after costs
  7. board — a flat piece
  8. net — for catching
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. last — final
  11. net — in sport
  12. cell — in biology
  13. wake — to stop sleeping
  14. wake — a trail
  15. board — a committee
  16. lean — thin
  17. cell — a phone
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. last — finally
  20. last — to go on
  21. pass — to succeed
  22. pass — a permit
  23. cold — not warm
  24. board — to get on

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