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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. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  4. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. That was ________________ to happen.
  10. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  16. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  17. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  18. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  19. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  24. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. game — wild animals
  3. pit — a hole
  4. fork — a garden tool
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. game — a match
  7. last — to go on
  8. last — final
  9. bound — certain
  10. dip — a sauce
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. row — to paddle
  14. row — a line
  15. pit — a fruit stone
  16. bound — tied together
  17. bound — obliged
  18. dip — to dunk
  19. dip — to sink
  20. last — finally
  21. wax — to grow
  22. fork — in a road
  23. pit — in a race
  24. fork — to eat with

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