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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. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  3. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  7. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. Don't do anything ________________.
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  15. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  16. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  17. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. pit — in a race
  3. pit — a fruit stone
  4. last — to go on
  5. season — in sport
  6. foot — a measure
  7. pit — a hole
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. last — final
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. game — a match
  12. rash — hasty
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. bore — to tire
  15. bore — gave birth
  16. foot — part of the body
  17. foot — the bottom
  18. rash — a series
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. bore — to drill
  21. last — finally
  22. wax — to grow
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. game — wild animals

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