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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. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. The light ________________ burned out.
  9. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  10. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  15. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  16. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  17. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  18. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  21. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  22. I've got to change the light ________________.
  23. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  24. Tom got himself in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. bass — low music
  5. staff — employees
  6. race — humankind
  7. last — finally
  8. bulb — for light
  9. jam — in traffic
  10. jam — to spread on bread
  11. last — to go on
  12. race — the arms race
  13. race — a contest
  14. staff — a stick
  15. wax — for sculpting
  16. staff — employees
  17. bass — the fish
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. perch — the fish
  20. wax — to grow
  21. bass — the instrument
  22. bulb — for light
  23. bulb — of a plant
  24. jam — a tight spot

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