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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. False peace will not ________________.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. Where did you ________________ them?
  13. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  20. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  23. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  24. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. hand — in cards
  4. last — finally
  5. prune — to trim
  6. last — final
  7. hand — help
  8. spell — letters
  9. spell — magic
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. prune — to trim
  12. mug — to rob
  13. pitch — a sports field
  14. spell — a short time
  15. object — to protest
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. object — a thing
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. pitch — a sales talk
  20. mug — a face
  21. wax — to grow
  22. object — an aim
  23. mug — a cup
  24. pitch — completely

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