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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. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  5. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  8. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  20. That must've been a ________________.
  21. My mare is ________________ in color.
  22. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  23. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  24. I'll take my ________________ from you.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. last — to go on
  3. last — final
  4. bay — to keep at bay
  5. foot — part of the body
  6. last — finally
  7. bay — a part of the sea
  8. wax — to grow
  9. capital — a city
  10. rush — hurry
  11. capital — money
  12. cue — a signal
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. cue — for pool
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. spring — of water
  17. spring — a coil
  18. spring — the season
  19. foot — a measure
  20. rush — a thrill
  21. bay — a horse colour
  22. foot — the bottom
  23. rush — to hurry
  24. cue — a hint

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