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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 116 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: mate · wax · pass · kick · stem · cold · firm · spell

  1. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  3. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  4. Have you found your soul ________________?
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  8. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  15. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  20. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. How do you ________________ your surname?
  24. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. firm — steady
  3. pass — to succeed
  4. mate — a partner
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. spell — a short time
  7. kick — with a leg
  8. kick — a thrill
  9. wax — to grow
  10. mate — to breed
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. cold — not warm
  13. stem — to come from
  14. firm — decided
  15. kick — in football
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. pass — to spend time
  18. spell — magic
  19. pass — a permit
  20. wax — for sculpting
  21. cold — an illness
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. spell — letters
  24. firm — a company

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