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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. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. Have you met the new head ________________?
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. That must've been a ________________.
  12. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  17. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  18. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  19. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  20. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. file — a tool
  3. file — a line of people
  4. pit — in a race
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. wax — to grow
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. band — a music group
  11. rush — a thrill
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. band — a ring
  14. pit — a fruit stone
  15. file — a document
  16. pit — a hole
  17. coach — pulled by horses
  18. rush — hurry
  19. rush — to hurry
  20. perch — the fish
  21. last — to go on
  22. last — finally
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. perch — for a bird

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