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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. She's very handy with a ________________.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  11. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  12. He works in a ________________ mill.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. When was this ________________ built?
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  19. Did you ________________ the meat?
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  22. I can't ________________ this cold.
  23. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  24. He is as ________________ as a wolf.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. ground — a position
  3. lean — to bend
  4. season — in sport
  5. stand — on your feet
  6. last — final
  7. ground — the earth
  8. saw — past of 'see'
  9. wax — to grow
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. stand — for spectators
  12. saw — the tool
  13. last — to go on
  14. ground — crushed
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. last — finally
  18. lean — to rest against
  19. season — to add flavour
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. season — of the year
  22. stand — to bear
  23. temple — side of the head
  24. lean — thin

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