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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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. The ________________ went through the wall.
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  5. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  6. The King held a masked ________________.
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  14. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  15. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  18. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  19. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  20. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  21. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  22. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  23. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  24. The ________________ change colour in autumn.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. track — a song
  4. vault — an arched ceiling
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. ball — a dance
  7. wax — to grow
  8. track — a path
  9. last — finally
  10. ball — a great time
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. last — to go on
  13. pass — to spend time
  14. nail — on a finger
  15. ball — a round shape
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. vault — a safe
  18. leaves — lets stay
  19. pass — a permit
  20. pass — to succeed
  21. leaves — to go away
  22. vault — in gymnastics
  23. track — to keep track
  24. leaves — of a tree

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