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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. There's no middle ________________.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  15. Have you met the new head ________________?
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  20. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  21. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. last — to go on
  3. safe — out of danger
  4. wax — to grow
  5. coach — pulled by horses
  6. hand — help
  7. last — finally
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. ground — the earth
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. safe — a strongbox
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. safe — out of danger
  20. ground — crushed
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. last — final
  23. bat — the animal
  24. hand — in cards

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