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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.

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: object · wax · rock · pass · board · bat · cold · mine

  1. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  2. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  3. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  7. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  8. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  9. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  13. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a flat piece
  2. pass — to spend time
  3. board — to get on
  4. cold — an illness
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. pass — to succeed
  7. rock — music
  8. rock — a stone
  9. rock — to move gently
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. mine — for digging
  12. object — a thing
  13. object — to protest
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. object — an aim
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. bat — the animal
  18. pass — a permit
  19. cold — not warm
  20. wax — for sculpting
  21. wax — to grow
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. board — a committee
  24. bat — in an idiom

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