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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 120 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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. Where did you ________________ them?
  3. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  6. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  10. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  11. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  12. Have you met the new head ________________?
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. mug — to rob
  3. mug — a face
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. rock — to move gently
  6. mug — a cup
  7. last — finally
  8. last — final
  9. pit — a fruit stone
  10. pit — in a race
  11. rock — a stone
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. wax — to grow
  14. pit — a hole
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. rock — music
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. coach — pulled by horses
  22. scale — in music
  23. last — to go on
  24. scale — size or range

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