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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: wound · pass · wax · mark · bat · field · rush · lie

  1. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  6. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  9. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  14. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  17. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  18. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. That must've been a ________________.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  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. bat — the animal
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. mark — a trace
  4. field — for sport
  5. lie — to recline
  6. pass — to succeed
  7. wound — an injury
  8. mark — to pay attention
  9. mark — a grade
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. field — farmland
  13. rush — hurry
  14. rush — to hurry
  15. field — a subject
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. pass — to spend time
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. wax — to grow
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. rush — a thrill
  23. wound — an injury
  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