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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: root · last · hand · clip · pass · mate · wax · craft

  1. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. Have you found your soul ________________?
  5. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  13. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  14. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  15. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  18. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  19. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. pass — to succeed
  3. last — to go on
  4. mate — a partner
  5. craft — boats
  6. mate — a friend
  7. clip — to cut
  8. mate — to breed
  9. hand — help
  10. craft — a handicraft
  11. last — final
  12. root — the cause
  13. craft — a skill
  14. pass — a permit
  15. pass — to spend time
  16. last — finally
  17. wax — to grow
  18. wax — in the ear
  19. root — of a plant
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. hand — in cards
  22. clip — a video
  23. root — of a word
  24. clip — for paper

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