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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. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. My mare is ________________ in color.
  4. He works in a ________________ mill.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. Did you ________________ the meat?
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  24. She's very handy with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. bay — a horse colour
  4. saw — the tool
  5. capital — money
  6. cold — an illness
  7. cold — not warm
  8. last — final
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. bay — a part of the sea
  11. season — of the year
  12. bay — to keep at bay
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. capital — a city
  15. field — a subject
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. last — to go on
  18. season — to add flavour
  19. field — farmland
  20. field — for sport
  21. season — in sport
  22. last — finally
  23. wax — for sculpting
  24. saw — the tool

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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