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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. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. My mare is ________________ in color.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  18. How do you ________________ your surname?
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  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. last — to go on
  2. spell — magic
  3. wax — to grow
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. bay — to keep at bay
  6. capital — money
  7. net — for catching
  8. last — final
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. spell — a short time
  11. capital — a city
  12. bay — a horse colour
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. cold — not warm
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. cold — an illness
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. spell — letters
  19. net — in sport
  20. hide — animal skin
  21. net — after costs
  22. bay — a part of the sea
  23. cold — the Cold War
  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