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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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Word bank
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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: bay · land · fall · chip · wax · last · racket · net

  1. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. My mare is ________________ in color.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  19. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  20. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  21. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  22. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  23. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. bay — to keep at bay
  3. fall — to drop
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. net — for catching
  6. wax — to grow
  7. bay — a horse colour
  8. last — to go on
  9. net — in sport
  10. chip — in a computer
  11. fall — the season
  12. land — to come down
  13. land — ground
  14. chip — to eat
  15. last — finally
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. net — after costs
  18. racket — a loud noise
  19. wax — in the ear
  20. wax — for sculpting
  21. fall — to drop
  22. chip — for betting
  23. bay — a part of the sea
  24. land — a country

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