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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 116 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. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. The King held a masked ________________.
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  17. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  18. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. fan — to cool the air
  6. kid — child
  7. race — humankind
  8. squash — to crush
  9. kid — to tease
  10. race — the arms race
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. race — a contest
  14. ball — a dance
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. ball — a great time
  17. wax — to grow
  18. ball — a round shape

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