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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: wax · shower · clip · mouse · pass · cabinet · bat · chair

  1. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  4. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. What do you think of the new ________________?
  9. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  15. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  18. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — to succeed
  2. chair — a leader
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. pass — to spend time
  5. bat — the animal
  6. wax — to grow
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. clip — to cut
  11. shower — rain
  12. clip — for paper
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. cabinet — a cupboard
  15. pass — a permit
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. mouse — for a computer
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. clip — a video
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. shower — to wash
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. chair — to sit on

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