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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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  4. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  18. Have you settled on a ________________?
  19. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  20. Have you found your soul ________________?
  21. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  22. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  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 — final
  2. wax — to grow
  3. vault — a safe
  4. date — the fruit
  5. march — the month
  6. march — the month
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. last — finally
  9. last — to go on
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. pit — in a race
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. bark — to shout
  15. vault — in gymnastics
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. mate — a friend
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. pit — a fruit stone
  20. mate — a partner
  21. pit — a hole
  22. mate — to breed
  23. march — music
  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