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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: fork · pound · wax · bass · net · cold · pass · leaves

  1. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  2. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  5. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  6. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  11. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  12. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  13. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  17. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  18. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. You can't go backstage without a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. leaves — to go away
  3. wax — to grow
  4. pound — for dogs
  5. leaves — of a tree
  6. bass — the fish
  7. cold — not warm
  8. fork — in a road
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. pass — to succeed
  11. pound — to hit hard
  12. leaves — lets stay
  13. bass — the instrument
  14. cold — an illness
  15. net — in sport
  16. pound — a weight
  17. pass — to spend time
  18. bass — low music
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. fork — to eat with
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. net — for catching
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. pass — a permit

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