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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. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. When will it ________________ you to start?
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. That must've been a ________________.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. My father caught me by the ________________.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  18. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  19. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  20. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  21. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. wax — to grow
  4. suit — to fit
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. rush — a thrill
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. arm — a part of something
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. rush — to hurry
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. bark — to shout
  14. drill — the tool
  15. suit — in cards
  16. last — final
  17. present — there
  18. present — a gift
  19. rush — hurry
  20. suit — clothes
  21. present — the time now
  22. last — to go on
  23. drill — army training
  24. drill — a practice

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