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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. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  16. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  17. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  18. Have you found your soul ________________?
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  23. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. kick — in football
  3. spring — of water
  4. kick — with a leg
  5. spring — a coil
  6. cell — in biology
  7. last — finally
  8. content — the amount
  9. wax — to grow
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. mate — a friend
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. spring — the season
  15. wax — for sculpting
  16. board — a flat piece
  17. board — to get on
  18. mate — a partner
  19. cell — a phone
  20. mate — to breed
  21. content — happy
  22. kick — a thrill
  23. board — a committee
  24. last — to go on

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