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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. False peace will not ________________.
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  17. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. last — to go on
  3. club — for dancing
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. last — final
  6. land — to come down
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. last — finally
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. stem — to come from
  11. squash — to crush
  12. land — a country
  13. land — ground
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. club — for golf
  17. club — a group
  18. wax — to grow

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