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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 120 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. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  5. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  10. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  11. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  14. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. Have you met the new head ________________?
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. He's quite ________________, isn't he?

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

Answer key

  1. suit — to fit
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. wax — to grow
  4. pit — a hole
  5. scale — for weighing
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. scale — size or range
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. pit — a fruit stone
  10. face — to confront
  11. face — to point toward
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. suit — clothes
  14. pit — in a race
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. suit — in cards
  17. face — part of the head
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. land — a country
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. land — to come down
  22. land — ground
  23. scale — in music
  24. sharp — clever

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