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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. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  10. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  21. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  22. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  23. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  24. The ________________ change colour in autumn.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. mark — a grade
  3. wax — to grow
  4. last — final
  5. club — a group
  6. last — to go on
  7. game — a match
  8. degree — temperature
  9. club — for dancing
  10. mark — to pay attention
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. track — to keep track
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. game — wild animals
  15. leaves — to go away
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. track — a path
  18. degree — from a university
  19. degree — an amount
  20. track — a song
  21. club — for golf
  22. leaves — lets stay
  23. mark — a trace
  24. leaves — of a tree

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