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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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  3. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  14. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  17. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  18. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  19. We're almost out of ________________.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. That must've been a ________________.
  23. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  24. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. drill — a practice
  3. rush — hurry
  4. last — to go on
  5. wax — to grow
  6. spring — a coil
  7. rush — to hurry
  8. last — finally
  9. spring — of water
  10. drill — the tool
  11. pop — to visit
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. pass — to spend time
  14. pass — to succeed
  15. drill — army training
  16. deal — to handle
  17. pop — music
  18. pass — a permit
  19. pop — soda
  20. spring — the season
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. rush — a thrill
  23. deal — a big deal
  24. deal — an agreement

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