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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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
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: craft · cold · pass · chest · rash · wax · spell · last

  1. The water is too ________________.
  2. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  3. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  14. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  23. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. pass — a permit
  3. pass — to spend time
  4. rash — hasty
  5. chest — of your body
  6. spell — a short time
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. last — finally
  9. chest — of your body
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. spell — letters
  12. spell — magic
  13. pass — to succeed
  14. wax — for sculpting
  15. last — final
  16. cold — an illness
  17. rash — a series
  18. last — to go on
  19. craft — a skill
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. wax — to grow
  22. craft — a handicraft
  23. craft — boats
  24. chest — a box

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