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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. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  6. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  7. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  8. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  9. The ________________ went through the wall.
  10. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  17. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  18. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  19. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  20. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  21. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  22. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  23. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. last — final
  3. leaves — lets stay
  4. last — finally
  5. fine — all right
  6. pass — to succeed
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. pass — a permit
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. leaves — of a tree
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. spell — a short time
  14. spell — magic
  15. wax — to grow
  16. leaves — to go away
  17. nail — on a finger
  18. fine — a penalty
  19. bowl — a football final
  20. bowl — to roll
  21. pass — to spend time
  22. bowl — a dish
  23. fine — high quality
  24. last — to go on

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