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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 120 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. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  16. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  20. This piece is in a major ________________.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. mate — a friend
  3. last — final
  4. key — for a lock
  5. mate — a partner
  6. wax — to grow
  7. vault — in gymnastics
  8. prune — to trim
  9. root — of a plant
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. spring — a coil
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. prune — to trim
  15. root — of a word
  16. vault — a safe
  17. mate — to breed
  18. spring — of water
  19. root — the cause
  20. key — in music
  21. spring — the season
  22. key — the most important part
  23. last — finally
  24. vault — an arched ceiling

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