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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. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  2. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  6. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  7. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  10. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  14. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  15. My mare is ________________ in color.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  18. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  19. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  22. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  23. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  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. leaves — of a tree
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. sharp — clever
  5. rule — a law
  6. bay — a part of the sea
  7. craft — a skill
  8. cell — a phone
  9. craft — boats
  10. wax — for sculpting
  11. last — final
  12. last — to go on
  13. craft — a handicraft
  14. bay — to keep at bay
  15. bay — a horse colour
  16. cell — in biology
  17. wax — to grow
  18. rule — to rule out
  19. leaves — lets stay
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. rule — government
  22. leaves — to go away
  23. sharp — with an edge
  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