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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. False peace will not ________________.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  4. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  7. The tickets are free of ________________.
  8. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  9. She's very handy with a ________________.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  19. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  20. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. He works in a ________________ mill.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. chest — of your body
  3. charge — electricity
  4. drill — a practice
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. charge — in control
  7. charge — a price
  8. saw — past of 'see'
  9. saw — the tool
  10. last — finally
  11. lash — an eyelash
  12. file — a line of people
  13. file — a document
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. last — final
  16. chest — of your body
  17. chest — a box
  18. lash — to lash out
  19. lash — a whip stroke
  20. wax — to grow
  21. file — a tool
  22. drill — the tool
  23. saw — the tool
  24. drill — army training

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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