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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. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  4. Have you met the new head ________________?
  5. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  10. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  11. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  23. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  24. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. tear — to rip
  3. mouse — for a computer
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. leaves — of a tree
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. tear — from crying
  8. cold — not warm
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. current — happening now
  11. leaves — to go away
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. tear — from crying
  15. last — to go on
  16. cold — an illness
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. current — electric
  19. last — final
  20. last — finally
  21. wax — to grow
  22. current — of water
  23. leaves — lets stay
  24. mouse — the animal

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