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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 116 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. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  7. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  11. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  16. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  17. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. object — an aim
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. pound — a weight
  7. pound — to hit hard
  8. last — to go on
  9. wax — to grow
  10. pound — for dogs
  11. ruler — for measuring
  12. last — finally
  13. object — to protest
  14. season — in sport
  15. object — a thing
  16. ruler — a monarch
  17. season — of the year
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. wake — a trail
  22. ruler — for measuring
  23. bat — the animal
  24. last — final

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