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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: spring · roll · mark · bat · wax · court · season · pass

  1. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  12. We're on a ________________ here.
  13. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  17. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  18. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  19. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  23. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  24. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. wax — to grow
  3. mark — a grade
  4. spring — a coil
  5. spring — the season
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. bat — the animal
  8. court — of law
  9. mark — a trace
  10. season — in sport
  11. pass — to succeed
  12. roll — on a roll
  13. roll — a list
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. court — of a king
  16. pass — a permit
  17. season — of the year
  18. pass — to spend time
  19. wax — in the ear
  20. court — for sport
  21. spring — of water
  22. wax — for sculpting
  23. roll — a cake
  24. mark — to pay attention

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