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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. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. Have you found your soul ________________?
  5. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  10. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. The light ________________ burned out.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. I've got to change the light ________________.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. My father caught me by the ________________.
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. last — to go on
  3. last — final
  4. mate — a partner
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. band — a ring
  8. last — finally
  9. bulb — of a plant
  10. wax — in the ear
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. arm — a part of something
  14. mate — to breed
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. wax — to grow
  17. bulb — for light
  18. net — for catching
  19. bulb — for light
  20. band — a music group
  21. net — after costs
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. net — in sport
  24. bat — the animal

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