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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 120 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 · march · wake · pass · craft · foot · court · tube

  1. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  2. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  3. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  11. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  14. I'll be taking the ________________.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  17. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  22. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — to succeed
  2. wake — a trail
  3. craft — a skill
  4. court — for sport
  5. foot — part of the body
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. cold — an illness
  8. pass — a permit
  9. court — of a king
  10. foot — the bottom
  11. pass — to spend time
  12. march — the month
  13. craft — boats
  14. tube — the underground
  15. court — of law
  16. craft — a handicraft
  17. tube — in a tire
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. foot — a measure
  20. cold — not warm
  21. wake — before a funeral
  22. tube — a container
  23. march — the month
  24. march — music

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