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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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  15. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  23. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. last — finally
  3. last — to go on
  4. degree — temperature
  5. ground — the earth
  6. degree — an amount
  7. fall — to drop
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. fall — to drop
  10. fall — the season
  11. ground — a position
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. wax — to grow
  14. stem — to come from
  15. board — a committee
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. sharp — clever
  19. wax — in the ear
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. ground — crushed
  22. board — to get on
  23. board — a flat piece
  24. degree — from a university

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