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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. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  2. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  6. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  7. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  14. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  15. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  21. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  24. Have you found your soul ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. mate — to breed
  2. lean — thin
  3. last — final
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. mark — a grade
  6. mark — to pay attention
  7. lean — to bend
  8. last — to go on
  9. face — part of the head
  10. cell — in biology
  11. cell — a phone
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. branch — of a bank
  14. lean — to rest against
  15. mark — a trace
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. last — finally
  18. face — to confront
  19. face — to point toward
  20. mate — a friend
  21. branch — of a tree
  22. branch — a division
  23. wax — to grow
  24. mate — a partner

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