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

  1. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. Have you settled on a ________________?
  4. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  15. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  16. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  20. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. I'll be taking the ________________.
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sports field
  2. spell — letters
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. band — a music group
  7. row — to paddle
  8. band — a ring
  9. tube — in a tire
  10. row — a line
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. spell — magic
  14. pitch — completely
  15. pitch — a sales talk
  16. tube — a container
  17. squash — the sport
  18. spell — a short time
  19. date — the fruit
  20. wax — to grow
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. tube — the underground
  23. squash — the vegetable
  24. squash — to crush

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