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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 120 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. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  9. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. The ________________ took off on time.
  12. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  22. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. chest — a box
  3. fine — all right
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. object — an aim
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. plane — in geometry
  9. bank — for money
  10. cold — not warm
  11. plane — an aircraft
  12. object — to protest
  13. last — finally
  14. last — final
  15. wax — to grow
  16. chest — of your body
  17. bank — for money
  18. last — to go on
  19. fine — a penalty
  20. chest — of your body
  21. bank — of a river
  22. object — a thing
  23. cold — an illness
  24. plane — a tool

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