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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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  9. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  10. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  11. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  15. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  16. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  17. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  21. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  24. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. last — finally
  3. season — in sport
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. capital — money
  6. season — of the year
  7. wake — a trail
  8. present — the time now
  9. cap — a lid
  10. wax — in the ear
  11. present — a gift
  12. cap — of ice
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. cap — a hat
  15. wake — before a funeral
  16. pit — a hole
  17. present — there
  18. wax — to grow
  19. capital — a city
  20. wax — for sculpting
  21. wake — to stop sleeping
  22. last — to go on
  23. pit — in a race
  24. pit — a fruit stone

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