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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: saw · wax · land · content · cold · lash · last · pass

  1. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. She's very handy with a ________________.
  14. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. He works in a ________________ mill.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  23. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. land — a country
  3. pass — to spend time
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. pass — to succeed
  6. last — finally
  7. cold — not warm
  8. content — the amount
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. wax — in the ear
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. content — happy
  13. saw — the tool
  14. lash — to lash out
  15. wax — to grow
  16. last — final
  17. pass — a permit
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. last — to go on
  20. saw — the tool
  21. land — ground
  22. lash — a whip stroke
  23. lash — an eyelash
  24. land — to come down

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