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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 got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  13. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  14. This piece is in a major ________________.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  17. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  18. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  19. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — a penalty
  2. last — to go on
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. last — final
  6. last — finally
  7. snap — to click
  8. key — the most important part
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. perch — the fish
  11. march — music
  12. key — for a lock
  13. fine — all right
  14. key — in music
  15. march — the month
  16. fine — high quality
  17. wax — to grow
  18. club — for dancing
  19. club — a group
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. march — the month
  24. club — for golf

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