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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 116 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. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  8. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  9. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  14. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  17. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  18. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  19. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  20. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  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 — final
  2. land — ground
  3. ground — the earth
  4. net — after costs
  5. ground — crushed
  6. last — to go on
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. wave — a sudden rise
  9. mouse — for a computer
  10. land — to come down
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. net — for catching
  13. rest — what's left
  14. rest — a break
  15. ground — a position
  16. wave — with your hand
  17. rest — what's left
  18. wave — of the sea
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. wax — to grow
  21. net — in sport
  22. land — a country
  23. wax — for sculpting
  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