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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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  20. The ________________ took off on time.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  23. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  24. The ________________ went through the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. band — a music group
  4. chest — a box
  5. nail — on a finger
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. plane — in geometry
  8. last — to go on
  9. last — finally
  10. band — a ring
  11. lie — to recline
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. wax — to grow
  15. chest — of your body
  16. chest — of your body
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. plane — a tool
  20. plane — an aircraft
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. nail — for a hammer

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