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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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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: cold · wind · row · pit · pass · wax · staff · mate

  1. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  2. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  3. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  4. Have you found your soul ________________?
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  7. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  8. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  11. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  14. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  15. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  24. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?

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

Answer key

  1. pass — to succeed
  2. row — to paddle
  3. staff — employees
  4. mate — a partner
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. staff — a stick
  7. mate — to breed
  8. pass — a permit
  9. wind — moving air
  10. wax — in the ear
  11. pit — a fruit stone
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. pass — to spend time
  14. wax — for sculpting
  15. pit — in a race
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. wax — to grow
  18. row — a line
  19. pit — a hole
  20. cold — an illness
  21. wind — moving air
  22. cold — not warm
  23. staff — employees
  24. mate — a friend

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