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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. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  2. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. Don't do anything ________________.
  7. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  12. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  15. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  16. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  21. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  22. Have you met the new head ________________?
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. Did you ________________ the meat?

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

Answer key

  1. season — in sport
  2. fine — all right
  3. last — finally
  4. coach — pulled by horses
  5. season — of the year
  6. rash — hasty
  7. scale — size or range
  8. rash — a series
  9. root — of a plant
  10. wax — to grow
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. rash — on the skin
  13. last — to go on
  14. root — the cause
  15. fine — high quality
  16. fine — a penalty
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. wax — in the ear
  19. last — final
  20. root — of a word
  21. wax — for sculpting
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. scale — in music
  24. season — to add flavour

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