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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. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  11. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  12. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  13. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  17. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. last — to go on
  3. rock — a stone
  4. season — of the year
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. scale — size or range
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. race — humankind
  9. last — finally
  10. rock — music
  11. scale — in music
  12. dip — to sink
  13. dip — to dunk
  14. race — the arms race
  15. race — a contest
  16. dip — a sauce
  17. rock — to move gently
  18. season — in sport
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. last — final
  21. file — a document
  22. wax — to grow
  23. file — a tool
  24. file — a line of people

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