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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. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  5. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  6. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  11. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  14. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  15. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  16. This piece is in a major ________________.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. Have you met the new head ________________?
  19. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  20. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  21. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  24. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. bowl — a football final
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. key — the most important part
  5. pass — a permit
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. wax — to grow
  8. pass — to succeed
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. bowl — to roll
  12. last — finally
  13. bore — to drill
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. perch — the fish
  16. key — in music
  17. last — to go on
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. pass — to spend time
  20. bore — to tire
  21. bore — gave birth
  22. last — final
  23. key — for a lock
  24. coach — pulled by horses

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