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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. I can't ________________ this cold.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  4. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  10. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  11. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  12. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  15. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. The King held a masked ________________.
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  20. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  21. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  24. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — to bear
  2. last — final
  3. ball — a round shape
  4. rest — what's left
  5. last — to go on
  6. wax — to grow
  7. lean — thin
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. rest — a break
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. ball — a great time
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. last — finally
  14. lean — to bend
  15. rest — what's left
  16. wound — an injury
  17. ball — a dance
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. wax — in the ear
  20. lean — to rest against
  21. hide — animal skin
  22. wound — an injury
  23. stand — for spectators
  24. stand — on your feet

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