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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. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  12. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  13. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  18. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  19. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  20. Did you ________________ the meat?
  21. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  22. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  23. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. wake — a trail
  3. last — final
  4. cell — in biology
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. pit — a hole
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. wake — before a funeral
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. last — to go on
  11. bear — to put up with
  12. pit — a fruit stone
  13. calf — of the leg
  14. cell — a phone
  15. pit — in a race
  16. season — of the year
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. bear — the animal
  20. season — to add flavour
  21. season — in sport
  22. wax — to grow
  23. bear — the animal
  24. last — finally

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