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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: rule · hide · leaves · net · land · wax · pass · field

  1. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  2. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  5. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  8. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  12. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  15. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  16. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  17. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — animal skin
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. net — after costs
  4. pass — a permit
  5. pass — to spend time
  6. land — a country
  7. leaves — to go away
  8. wax — to grow
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. field — for sport
  11. pass — to succeed
  12. leaves — lets stay
  13. net — for catching
  14. rule — government
  15. rule — a law
  16. leaves — of a tree
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. field — a subject
  19. field — farmland
  20. wax — for sculpting
  21. land — to come down
  22. rule — to rule out
  23. land — ground
  24. net — in sport

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