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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 116 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. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  11. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  17. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. last — final
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. dip — a sauce
  7. last — finally
  8. leaves — of a tree
  9. march — the month
  10. leaves — lets stay
  11. dip — to sink
  12. last — to go on
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. leaves — to go away
  17. dip — to dunk
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. march — music
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. march — the month
  24. wax — to grow

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