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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. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  5. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  6. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  7. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  13. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  14. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  15. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  16. Have you found your soul ________________?
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. The King held a masked ________________.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. present — there
  2. wax — to grow
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. present — the time now
  5. mate — a friend
  6. bowl — a dish
  7. mate — to breed
  8. cold — not warm
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. last — to go on
  12. ball — a great time
  13. bowl — a football final
  14. present — a gift
  15. bowl — to roll
  16. mate — a partner
  17. last — finally
  18. cold — an illness
  19. wake — a trail
  20. wake — to stop sleeping
  21. last — final
  22. ball — a dance
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. ball — a round shape

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