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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 116 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. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  9. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  18. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. Did you ________________ the meat?

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. mark — to pay attention
  4. last — to go on
  5. mark — a grade
  6. last — final
  7. season — in sport
  8. season — of the year
  9. dip — to sink
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. dip — a sauce
  12. wound — an injury
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. wax — to grow
  15. dip — to dunk
  16. degree — an amount
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. fan — to cool the air
  19. degree — temperature
  20. wound — an injury
  21. mark — a trace
  22. degree — from a university
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. season — to add flavour

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