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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. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  6. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. Have you settled on a ________________?
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  11. The light ________________ burned out.
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  17. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  18. I've got to change the light ________________.
  19. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  22. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. wax — to grow
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. bowl — a football final
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. cell — a phone
  10. date — the fruit
  11. bulb — for light
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. cell — in biology
  14. chair — a leader
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. bowl — to roll
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. bulb — for light
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. last — finally
  21. bulb — of a plant
  22. hide — animal skin
  23. last — to go on
  24. last — final

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