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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 120 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. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  8. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  9. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  12. He works in a ________________ mill.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  18. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. She's very handy with a ________________.
  23. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. wax — to grow
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. squash — to crush
  5. band — a ring
  6. mine — for digging
  7. squash — the sport
  8. fork — to eat with
  9. bowl — to roll
  10. band — a music group
  11. bowl — a football final
  12. saw — the tool
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. fork — in a road
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. fork — a garden tool
  18. bowl — a dish
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. saw — the tool
  23. racket — a loud noise
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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