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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. False peace will not ________________.
  2. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. My mare is ________________ in color.
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  10. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  11. I'll be taking the ________________.
  12. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  15. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  16. This piece is in a major ________________.
  17. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  20. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. key — the most important part
  3. wax — to grow
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. bay — a horse colour
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. last — finally
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. pit — a fruit stone
  10. pit — a hole
  11. tube — the underground
  12. bay — to keep at bay
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. key — for a lock
  15. bay — a part of the sea
  16. key — in music
  17. tube — in a tire
  18. last — final
  19. pit — in a race
  20. tube — a container
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. drill — a practice
  23. drill — army training
  24. drill — the tool

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