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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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. We're on a ________________ here.
  5. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  6. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  7. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  8. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  15. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  19. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  22. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. field — farmland
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. roll — on a roll
  5. trunk — of an elephant
  6. rest — what's left
  7. rest — what's left
  8. trunk — of a tree
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. wax — to grow
  11. roll — a list
  12. field — for sport
  13. last — final
  14. fork — in a road
  15. rest — a break
  16. ground — crushed
  17. last — finally
  18. fork — to eat with
  19. trunk — of a car
  20. field — a subject
  21. fork — a garden tool
  22. roll — a cake
  23. ground — a position
  24. ground — the earth

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