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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. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  14. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. When will it ________________ you to start?
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. suit — in cards
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. court — of law
  5. wax — to grow
  6. squash — to crush
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. squash — the sport
  9. last — final
  10. last — to go on
  11. court — of a king
  12. court — for sport
  13. can — a tin
  14. suit — clothes
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. can — to be able to
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. suit — to fit
  19. cold — not warm
  20. can — a tin
  21. cold — an illness
  22. snap — to click
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. wax — for sculpting

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