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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. When will it ________________ you to start?
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. suit — to fit
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. row — to paddle
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. suit — clothes
  6. last — final
  7. bat — the animal
  8. pit — a fruit stone
  9. last — to go on
  10. march — the month
  11. suit — in cards
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. wax — to grow
  15. pit — a hole
  16. last — finally
  17. row — a line
  18. hand — help
  19. march — music
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. pit — in a race
  23. hand — in cards
  24. march — the month

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