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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 120 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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  3. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  6. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  7. We're almost out of ________________.
  8. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  15. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  16. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. pit — a fruit stone
  3. branch — of a bank
  4. wax — to grow
  5. hide — animal skin
  6. squash — to crush
  7. pop — soda
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. pop — to visit
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. last — finally
  14. pop — music
  15. pit — a hole
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. field — a subject
  18. squash — the sport
  19. field — farmland
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. field — for sport
  22. branch — a division
  23. last — to go on
  24. pit — in a race

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