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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. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  20. My mare is ________________ in color.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. You can't go backstage without a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. last — finally
  3. content — the amount
  4. mark — a grade
  5. march — music
  6. content — happy
  7. bay — to keep at bay
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. march — the month
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. pass — to succeed
  12. march — the month
  13. bay — a part of the sea
  14. wax — to grow
  15. pass — to spend time
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. mark — a trace
  18. cell — in biology
  19. mark — to pay attention
  20. bay — a horse colour
  21. last — to go on
  22. last — final
  23. cell — a phone
  24. pass — a permit

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