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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. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  2. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. It's one o'clock ________________.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. The tickets are free of ________________.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  23. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  24. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. last — to go on
  4. sharp — exactly
  5. court — of a king
  6. charge — a price
  7. court — for sport
  8. fall — to drop
  9. track — a song
  10. wax — to grow
  11. charge — electricity
  12. wind — moving air
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. sharp — clever
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. track — a path
  17. wind — moving air
  18. last — final
  19. last — finally
  20. court — of law
  21. fall — the season
  22. charge — in control
  23. wax — for sculpting
  24. fall — to drop

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