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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 120 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. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  19. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  20. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  21. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  22. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  24. He has no idea where the ________________ is.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — out of danger
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. pit — a fruit stone
  4. cap — a lid
  5. deal — a big deal
  6. wind — moving air
  7. last — final
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. cap — of ice
  10. spell — letters
  11. last — finally
  12. last — to go on
  13. wax — to grow
  14. deal — an agreement
  15. wind — moving air
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. spell — a short time
  18. deal — to handle
  19. cap — a hat
  20. pit — a hole
  21. pit — in a race
  22. safe — out of danger
  23. spell — magic
  24. safe — a strongbox

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