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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. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. Have you met the new head ________________?
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  10. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  17. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  18. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  21. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  22. The King held a masked ________________.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. 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 — final
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. last — to go on
  4. chest — a box
  5. bass — low music
  6. capital — money
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. ball — a round shape
  10. track — a song
  11. chest — of your body
  12. coach — pulled by horses
  13. wax — to grow
  14. ball — a great time
  15. chest — of your body
  16. bass — the fish
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. bass — the instrument
  19. capital — a city
  20. track — a path
  21. track — to keep track
  22. ball — a dance
  23. last — finally
  24. 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