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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. False peace will not ________________.
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  6. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  7. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  10. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  11. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  12. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  16. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  17. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  20. She's very handy with a ________________.
  21. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. mate — a partner
  3. wound — an injury
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. current — happening now
  6. current — of water
  7. jam — to spread on bread
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. mate — to breed
  10. jam — a tight spot
  11. jam — in traffic
  12. current — electric
  13. wound — an injury
  14. saw — the tool
  15. mark — a trace
  16. mark — to pay attention
  17. wax — for sculpting
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. mate — a friend
  20. saw — the tool
  21. mark — a grade
  22. last — final
  23. wax — to grow
  24. last — finally

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