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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: fork · pass · hand · mate · plane · cabinet · last · wax

  1. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  2. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  14. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  15. What do you think of the new ________________?
  16. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. The ________________ took off on time.
  20. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  21. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  22. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  23. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  24. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — to succeed
  2. fork — to eat with
  3. hand — help
  4. last — final
  5. pass — to spend time
  6. last — to go on
  7. mate — a partner
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. last — finally
  10. hand — in cards
  11. cabinet — a cupboard
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. fork — a garden tool
  14. pass — a permit
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. mate — to breed
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. plane — an aircraft
  20. wax — to grow
  21. fork — in a road
  22. plane — in geometry
  23. mate — a friend
  24. plane — a tool

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