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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. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  13. That was ________________ to happen.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  19. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. wake — a trail
  6. degree — temperature
  7. season — in sport
  8. bound — obliged
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. degree — an amount
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. wake — to stop sleeping
  13. bound — certain
  14. march — the month
  15. degree — from a university
  16. season — of the year
  17. last — finally
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. bound — tied together
  20. last — final
  21. march — the month
  22. march — music
  23. wax — to grow
  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