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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 cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. When will it ________________ you to start?
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. suit — clothes
  2. last — final
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. last — to go on
  5. wax — to grow
  6. drill — the tool
  7. chest — of your body
  8. suit — to fit
  9. chest — of your body
  10. wax — in the ear
  11. tear — to rip
  12. scale — in music
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. chest — a box
  15. tear — from crying
  16. suit — in cards
  17. tear — from crying
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. drill — a practice
  21. last — finally
  22. perch — the fish
  23. scale — size or range
  24. drill — army training

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