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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 would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  4. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — a drink to someone
  2. last — to go on
  3. face — part of the head
  4. object — a thing
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. toast — bread
  7. face — to confront
  8. object — an aim
  9. wax — to grow
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. staff — a stick
  13. spell — a short time
  14. staff — employees
  15. spell — letters
  16. toast — the most admired
  17. face — to point toward
  18. last — finally
  19. bark — to shout
  20. object — to protest
  21. spell — magic
  22. last — final
  23. staff — employees
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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