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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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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. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. Have you settled on a ________________?
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  10. Have you found your soul ________________?
  11. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. That must've been a ________________.
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. last — to go on
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. last — final
  5. net — after costs
  6. rush — to hurry
  7. net — in sport
  8. mate — a friend
  9. date — the fruit
  10. mate — a partner
  11. mate — to breed
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. wax — to grow
  14. last — finally
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. net — for catching
  17. rush — a thrill
  18. wax — for sculpting

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