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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. False peace will not ________________.
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  8. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  9. You don't need to ________________ round.
  10. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. Have you settled on a ________________?
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  19. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  20. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  23. We're almost out of ________________.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. shower — rain
  3. last — final
  4. chair — a leader
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. chest — a box
  7. trunk — of a tree
  8. pop — music
  9. pop — to visit
  10. wax — in the ear
  11. shower — to wash
  12. last — finally
  13. chest — of your body
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. trunk — of an elephant
  19. date — the fruit
  20. wax — for sculpting
  21. wax — to grow
  22. chair — a professorship
  23. pop — soda
  24. chest — of your body

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