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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. False peace will not ________________.
  2. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  3. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  9. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  10. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  11. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  14. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  17. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  18. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  19. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  22. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. leaves — to go away
  3. mark — a trace
  4. last — finally
  5. last — final
  6. mark — to pay attention
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. wax — to grow
  9. dip — a sauce
  10. rock — a stone
  11. leaves — of a tree
  12. scale — in music
  13. leaves — lets stay
  14. wax — for sculpting
  15. land — ground
  16. mark — a grade
  17. rock — music
  18. dip — to sink
  19. scale — size or range
  20. land — a country
  21. rock — to move gently
  22. dip — to dunk
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. land — to come down

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