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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. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  22. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  23. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  24. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. leaves — of a tree
  3. wax — to grow
  4. leaves — to go away
  5. degree — an amount
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. rash — a series
  8. last — finally
  9. degree — from a university
  10. degree — temperature
  11. sharp — clever
  12. last — final
  13. last — to go on
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. stock — shares
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. leaves — lets stay
  19. stock — goods
  20. wake — a trail
  21. rash — on the skin
  22. wax — for sculpting
  23. stock — a soup base
  24. wax — in the ear

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