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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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. That was ________________ to happen.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  6. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  7. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  14. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  15. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  16. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  17. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  19. Did you ________________ the meat?
  20. What do you think of the new ________________?
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. bound — certain
  3. last — to go on
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. rock — a stone
  6. bound — obliged
  7. bound — tied together
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. last — final
  10. rock — music
  11. cold — not warm
  12. game — wild animals
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. cabinet — a cupboard
  15. wax — for sculpting
  16. rock — to move gently
  17. season — of the year
  18. season — in sport
  19. season — to add flavour
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. game — a match
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. wax — to grow
  24. last — finally

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