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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. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  5. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  11. Have you found your soul ________________?
  12. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  13. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. This piece is in a major ________________.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  18. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  19. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  22. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. chair — a leader
  3. mate — a friend
  4. lean — to rest against
  5. lean — thin
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. last — finally
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. wax — to grow
  10. track — to keep track
  11. mate — a partner
  12. key — the most important part
  13. key — for a lock
  14. mate — to breed
  15. key — in music
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. track — a path
  18. track — a song
  19. fork — a garden tool
  20. last — final
  21. fork — to eat with
  22. lean — to bend
  23. fork — in a road
  24. last — to go on

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