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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. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  4. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  14. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  15. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  18. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  23. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  24. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the vegetable
  2. row — a line
  3. bore — gave birth
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. squash — the sport
  6. fall — to drop
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. fall — to drop
  9. chest — a box
  10. wax — in the ear
  11. chest — of your body
  12. squash — to crush
  13. racket — a loud noise
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. fan — to cool the air
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. bore — to drill
  19. row — to paddle
  20. fall — the season
  21. chest — of your body
  22. bore — to tire
  23. wax — to grow
  24. fan — a supporter

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