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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. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. Have you settled on a ________________?
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  6. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  11. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. tear — from crying
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. last — to go on
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. pass — to succeed
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. last — finally
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. date — the fruit
  11. pass — to spend time
  12. snap — to click
  13. tear — from crying
  14. pass — a permit
  15. chair — a leader
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. tear — to rip
  19. chair — a professorship
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. wax — to grow
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. last — final

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