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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. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  10. Did you ________________ the meat?
  11. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  19. Don't do anything ________________.
  20. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  21. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  22. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. The people resisted their cruel ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. bat — the animal
  3. last — final
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. rash — a series
  6. land — a country
  7. season — in sport
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. firm — decided
  10. season — to add flavour
  11. firm — steady
  12. last — to go on
  13. ruler — for measuring
  14. last — finally
  15. wax — for sculpting
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. land — ground
  18. wax — to grow
  19. rash — hasty
  20. rash — on the skin
  21. ruler — for measuring
  22. firm — a company
  23. land — to come down
  24. ruler — a monarch

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