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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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  11. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  12. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  13. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  14. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  15. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  16. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  22. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  23. The King held a masked ________________.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. wax — to grow
  4. cold — not warm
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. squash — the sport
  7. last — finally
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. last — to go on
  10. hide — animal skin
  11. ball — a great time
  12. firm — decided
  13. staff — employees
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. firm — a company
  16. firm — steady
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. squash — to crush
  19. ball — a round shape
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. staff — employees
  22. staff — a stick
  23. ball — a dance
  24. cold — an illness

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