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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. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  13. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. What do you think of the new ________________?
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  23. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. last — finally
  3. march — the month
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. march — the month
  6. wax — to grow
  7. land — ground
  8. mark — a grade
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. last — to go on
  11. march — music
  12. pit — a hole
  13. pit — a fruit stone
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. land — to come down
  16. kid — to tease
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. mark — a trace
  19. kid — child
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. land — a country
  22. cabinet — a cupboard
  23. pit — in a race
  24. last — final

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