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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. False peace will not ________________.
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. Have you met the new head ________________?
  13. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  16. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  17. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  23. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  24. Did you ________________ the button?

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. mine — for digging
  5. rash — a series
  6. last — finally
  7. wax — to grow
  8. rash — on the skin
  9. last — final
  10. leaves — lets stay
  11. rash — hasty
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. press — a publisher
  14. wound — an injury
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. leaves — of a tree
  17. press — newspapers
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. wound — an injury
  22. wax — in the ear
  23. leaves — to go away
  24. press — to push

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