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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. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. We're almost out of ________________.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  21. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  24. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — to visit
  2. cell — in biology
  3. squash — the sport
  4. band — a ring
  5. wax — to grow
  6. leaves — of a tree
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. kid — child
  12. pop — soda
  13. bark — to shout
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. cell — a phone
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. leaves — to go away
  19. kid — to tease
  20. squash — to crush
  21. leaves — lets stay
  22. band — a music group
  23. pop — music
  24. wax — for sculpting

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