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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. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  2. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  3. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  10. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  11. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  12. My father caught me by the ________________.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  17. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  22. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — all right
  2. arm — a part of something
  3. fine — high quality
  4. march — the month
  5. last — to go on
  6. last — final
  7. march — music
  8. net — for catching
  9. scale — in music
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. net — in sport
  14. wax — to grow
  15. march — the month
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. wax — for sculpting
  18. last — finally
  19. wax — in the ear
  20. net — after costs
  21. perch — the fish
  22. fine — a penalty
  23. scale — size or range
  24. scale — for weighing

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