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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 120 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. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. Have you found your soul ________________?
  12. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  16. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  17. This piece is in a major ________________.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. Is it ________________ for us to be here?

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

Answer key

  1. key — the most important part
  2. wax — to grow
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. cell — in biology
  5. safe — a strongbox
  6. last — to go on
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. mate — to breed
  10. last — final
  11. mate — a partner
  12. key — for a lock
  13. last — finally
  14. wound — an injury
  15. wax — for sculpting
  16. mate — a friend
  17. key — in music
  18. cell — a phone
  19. wound — an injury
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. safe — out of danger
  22. band — a ring
  23. band — a music group
  24. safe — out of danger

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