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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: tear · last · wax · rest · jam · hand · mouse · season

  1. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  9. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. Did you ________________ the meat?
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  17. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. rest — a break
  5. season — of the year
  6. hand — help
  7. last — to go on
  8. jam — to spread on bread
  9. rest — what's left
  10. tear — from crying
  11. jam — a tight spot
  12. wax — to grow
  13. season — to add flavour
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. hand — in cards
  16. mouse — for a computer
  17. rest — what's left
  18. tear — to rip
  19. season — in sport
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. tear — from crying
  22. jam — in traffic
  23. last — finally
  24. mouse — the animal

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