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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. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  9. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  13. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  14. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  20. When will it ________________ you to start?
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. David sat on the ________________.
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — to go away
  2. last — final
  3. spell — a short time
  4. spell — letters
  5. spell — magic
  6. last — finally
  7. last — to go on
  8. staff — employees
  9. leaves — of a tree
  10. court — for sport
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. suit — in cards
  13. staff — a stick
  14. suit — clothes
  15. wax — to grow
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. leaves — lets stay
  18. court — of law
  19. staff — employees
  20. suit — to fit
  21. swing — in golf
  22. swing — to play on
  23. swing — music
  24. court — of a king

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