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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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. My mare is ________________ in color.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  7. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  8. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. When was this ________________ built?
  13. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  14. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  15. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  24. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. pound — a weight
  3. clip — to cut
  4. bay — a horse colour
  5. clip — for paper
  6. pound — to hit hard
  7. bay — a part of the sea
  8. pound — for dogs
  9. court — of law
  10. last — finally
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. fan — to cool the air
  14. temple — side of the head
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. court — of a king
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. court — for sport
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. clip — a video
  22. last — to go on
  23. bay — to keep at bay
  24. wax — to grow

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