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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. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  2. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  9. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  10. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  14. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. Did you ________________ the meat?
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  23. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  24. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. pound — to hit hard
  2. scale — size or range
  3. last — finally
  4. pound — a weight
  5. last — to go on
  6. pound — for dogs
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. fine — all right
  9. season — in sport
  10. fine — a penalty
  11. wound — an injury
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. fine — high quality
  14. scale — in music
  15. bat — the animal
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. last — final
  18. season — to add flavour
  19. wound — an injury
  20. wax — for sculpting
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. wax — to grow
  23. season — of the year
  24. wax — in the ear

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