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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 116 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. False peace will not ________________.
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  10. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. scale — for weighing
  4. shower — to wash
  5. scale — in music
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. chair — a leader
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. pound — for dogs
  10. pound — a weight
  11. last — final
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. pound — to hit hard
  14. wax — to grow
  15. last — finally
  16. scale — size or range
  17. shower — rain
  18. wax — in the ear

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