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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. False peace will not ________________.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  5. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  15. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  16. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  22. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  23. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. last — to go on
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. track — a path
  5. rule — a law
  6. last — final
  7. track — a song
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. rock — to move gently
  10. prune — to trim
  11. snap — to click
  12. prune — to trim
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. rule — to rule out
  15. rock — music
  16. track — to keep track
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. bat — the animal
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. rock — a stone
  22. rule — government
  23. wax — to grow
  24. prune — the fruit

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