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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. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  20. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  24. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a football final
  2. last — finally
  3. last — final
  4. last — to go on
  5. jam — to spread on bread
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. shower — rain
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. wax — to grow
  10. jam — a tight spot
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. bowl — a dish
  13. spring — the season
  14. bowl — to roll
  15. cap — of ice
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. shower — to wash
  19. jam — in traffic
  20. cap — a hat
  21. spring — a coil
  22. spring — of water
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. cap — a lid

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