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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. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  2. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  11. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  12. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. We're on a ________________ here.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a fruit stone
  2. pit — a hole
  3. march — the month
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. capital — money
  6. march — the month
  7. wax — to grow
  8. fork — in a road
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. roll — a list
  11. fork — a garden tool
  12. roll — a cake
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. last — finally
  15. chair — a leader
  16. capital — a city
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. last — final
  19. fork — to eat with
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. pit — in a race
  22. march — music
  23. roll — on a roll
  24. last — to go on

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