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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. False peace will not ________________.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  6. She's very handy with a ________________.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  10. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  13. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  24. He works in a ________________ mill.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. band — a music group
  3. wake — a trail
  4. band — a ring
  5. chip — to eat
  6. saw — the tool
  7. field — for sport
  8. field — a subject
  9. pitch — a sales talk
  10. pitch — a sports field
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. saw — past of 'see'
  13. chip — for betting
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. wax — to grow
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. wake — before a funeral
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. chip — in a computer
  20. last — finally
  21. field — farmland
  22. last — final
  23. pitch — completely
  24. saw — the tool

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