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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. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  6. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. He works in a ________________ mill.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  22. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  23. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  24. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. spell — letters
  3. last — to go on
  4. spell — magic
  5. object — a thing
  6. scale — in music
  7. ground — the earth
  8. object — an aim
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. scale — for weighing
  11. wax — to grow
  12. saw — the tool
  13. last — final
  14. saw — the tool
  15. fine — a penalty
  16. scale — size or range
  17. ground — crushed
  18. fine — high quality
  19. spell — a short time
  20. last — finally
  21. object — to protest
  22. fine — all right
  23. saw — past of 'see'
  24. wax — in the ear

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