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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. We're on a ________________ here.
  2. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  3. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  4. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  7. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  12. The King held a masked ________________.
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. This piece is in a major ________________.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  23. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — on a roll
  2. lean — thin
  3. roll — a cake
  4. ball — a round shape
  5. last — to go on
  6. key — for a lock
  7. ball — a great time
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. wax — to grow
  11. lean — to bend
  12. ball — a dance
  13. snap — to click
  14. key — in music
  15. last — finally
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. lean — to rest against
  19. row — a line
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. last — final
  22. roll — a list
  23. key — the most important part
  24. row — to paddle

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