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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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  16. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  19. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  20. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. last — final
  3. bass — the fish
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. last — finally
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. wave — of the sea
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. tube — a container
  10. tube — the underground
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. wave — with your hand
  13. drill — the tool
  14. drill — a practice
  15. bass — the instrument
  16. squash — to crush
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. wave — a sudden rise
  19. squash — the sport
  20. bass — low music
  21. wax — to grow
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. drill — army training

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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