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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. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  4. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  7. That was ________________ to happen.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  17. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  18. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  19. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  20. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  21. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  24. Is it ________________ for us to be here?

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

Answer key

  1. squash — to crush
  2. land — to come down
  3. squash — the sport
  4. safe — a strongbox
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. safe — out of danger
  7. bound — certain
  8. cold — not warm
  9. cold — an illness
  10. land — ground
  11. leaves — of a tree
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. fall — the season
  14. wax — for sculpting
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. leaves — to go away
  17. leaves — lets stay
  18. fall — to drop
  19. bound — obliged
  20. fall — to drop
  21. bound — tied together
  22. land — a country
  23. wax — to grow
  24. safe — out of danger

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