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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. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  2. We're almost out of ________________.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  5. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  19. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  20. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  21. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — in a race
  2. pop — soda
  3. last — to go on
  4. fine — a penalty
  5. pit — a fruit stone
  6. kid — to tease
  7. wax — to grow
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. net — for catching
  10. last — final
  11. pop — to visit
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. fine — all right
  14. net — in sport
  15. land — to come down
  16. last — finally
  17. net — after costs
  18. fine — high quality
  19. pit — a hole
  20. pop — music
  21. wax — for sculpting
  22. kid — child
  23. land — ground
  24. land — a country

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