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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 moon will ________________ and wane.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. The King held a masked ________________.
  4. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  5. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  6. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  7. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  8. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  14. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  15. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  16. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  17. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  20. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  21. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  22. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  23. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  24. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. ball — a dance
  4. drill — the tool
  5. ball — a round shape
  6. drill — a practice
  7. leaves — lets stay
  8. perch — the fish
  9. last — finally
  10. last — to go on
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. last — final
  13. leaves — of a tree
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. ball — a great time
  16. leaves — to go away
  17. fine — all right
  18. drill — army training
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. fine — high quality
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. fan — to cool the air
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. fine — a penalty

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