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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. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  2. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  5. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  6. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  7. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. This piece is in a major ________________.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  20. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  21. The King held a masked ________________.
  22. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — a break
  2. key — the most important part
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. rock — music
  5. key — for a lock
  6. rest — what's left
  7. rock — a stone
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. last — to go on
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. last — finally
  12. key — in music
  13. last — final
  14. rest — what's left
  15. wax — to grow
  16. ball — a great time
  17. wind — moving air
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. ball — a round shape
  20. wax — for sculpting
  21. ball — a dance
  22. rock — to move gently
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. wind — moving air

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