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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 116 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. False peace will not ________________.
  3. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  4. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  11. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  21. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  22. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  23. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. last — to go on
  3. track — a path
  4. track — a song
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. last — finally
  9. hand — in cards
  10. lean — to rest against
  11. dip — to dunk
  12. wax — to grow
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. lean — to bend
  15. wake — a trail
  16. capital — a city
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. capital — money
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. dip — a sauce
  21. lean — thin
  22. track — to keep track
  23. dip — to sink
  24. hand — help

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