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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. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  17. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. We're on a ________________ here.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  23. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. club — a group
  2. net — after costs
  3. leaves — lets stay
  4. last — final
  5. roll — a cake
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. leaves — of a tree
  8. net — in sport
  9. spring — a coil
  10. spring — of water
  11. net — for catching
  12. club — for golf
  13. spring — the season
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. wake — a trail
  16. roll — a list
  17. leaves — to go away
  18. wax — to grow
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. roll — on a roll
  21. last — to go on
  22. wax — in the ear
  23. club — for dancing
  24. last — finally

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