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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: mark · pit · land · prune · toast · last · wax · bay

  1. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  3. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  4. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  5. My mare is ________________ in color.
  6. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  14. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  18. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  19. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. mark — to pay attention
  3. pit — a hole
  4. toast — the most admired
  5. bay — a horse colour
  6. pit — in a race
  7. land — to come down
  8. prune — to trim
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. land — ground
  11. wax — to grow
  12. prune — to trim
  13. bay — to keep at bay
  14. toast — bread
  15. last — to go on
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. bay — a part of the sea
  18. mark — a grade
  19. pit — a fruit stone
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. land — a country
  22. toast — a drink to someone
  23. last — finally
  24. mark — a trace

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