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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. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  6. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. The King held a masked ________________.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  21. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  24. This piece is in a major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. file — a tool
  3. march — the month
  4. file — a line of people
  5. ball — a round shape
  6. key — the most important part
  7. hand — in cards
  8. ball — a great time
  9. wax — to grow
  10. march — the month
  11. march — music
  12. file — a document
  13. staff — employees
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. ball — a dance
  17. hand — help
  18. staff — employees
  19. last — final
  20. staff — a stick
  21. key — for a lock
  22. last — to go on
  23. wax — for sculpting
  24. key — in music

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