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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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. Where did you ________________ them?
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  23. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  24. Many English words ________________ from Latin.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. last — finally
  4. scale — in music
  5. mug — a cup
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. net — after costs
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. net — for catching
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. mug — a face
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. kick — in football
  15. kid — child
  16. mug — to rob
  17. kid — to tease
  18. net — in sport
  19. scale — size or range
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. last — to go on
  22. wax — for sculpting
  23. wax — to grow
  24. stem — to come from

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