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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. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  7. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  10. Where did you ________________ them?
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  21. How do you ________________ your surname?
  22. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  23. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  24. The ________________ went through the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. foot — a measure
  3. season — in sport
  4. mug — a face
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. foot — part of the body
  7. nail — on a finger
  8. last — to go on
  9. foot — the bottom
  10. mug — to rob
  11. row — a line
  12. spell — a short time
  13. last — final
  14. row — to paddle
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. spell — magic
  19. season — of the year
  20. wax — to grow
  21. spell — letters
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. mug — a cup
  24. nail — for a hammer

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