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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  7. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. chest — of your body
  4. rock — to move gently
  5. chest — a box
  6. rock — music
  7. wake — before a funeral
  8. wake — a trail
  9. rock — a stone
  10. last — final
  11. wax — to grow
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. mine — for digging
  14. chest — of your body
  15. last — to go on
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. mine — an explosive

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