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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. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. When was this ________________ built?
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. The ________________ went through the wall.
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. What do you think of the new ________________?
  19. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  20. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. mate — a partner
  3. wax — to grow
  4. spring — a coil
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. mate — a friend
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. spring — of water
  9. march — the month
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. march — music
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. mate — to breed
  15. march — the month
  16. nail — on a finger
  17. last — final
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. cabinet — a cupboard
  21. spring — the season
  22. last — to go on
  23. temple — side of the head
  24. last — finally

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