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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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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: cold · kick · wax · pass · fan · last · land · deal

  1. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  17. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  20. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  21. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  24. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. kick — in football
  4. last — finally
  5. pass — a permit
  6. cold — not warm
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. cold — an illness
  9. deal — an agreement
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. land — a country
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. kick — with a leg
  14. land — to come down
  15. last — final
  16. pass — to spend time
  17. fan — to cool the air
  18. land — ground
  19. deal — a big deal
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. deal — to handle
  22. last — to go on
  23. wax — to grow
  24. pass — to succeed

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