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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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  10. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  11. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  14. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  17. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  18. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  19. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  20. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  21. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  24. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. march — the month
  4. march — music
  5. last — to go on
  6. bank — for money
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. cue — for pool
  10. bank — of a river
  11. pit — a hole
  12. last — finally
  13. bass — low music
  14. cue — a hint
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. bank — for money
  17. bass — the instrument
  18. cue — a signal
  19. wax — to grow
  20. pit — in a race
  21. wax — for sculpting
  22. march — the month
  23. pit — a fruit stone
  24. bass — the fish

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