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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. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  14. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  19. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  20. That must've been a ________________.
  21. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  22. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. last — finally
  5. bank — for money
  6. row — a line
  7. wax — to grow
  8. row — to paddle
  9. squash — the sport
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. rush — hurry
  12. last — to go on
  13. staff — employees
  14. rush — to hurry
  15. last — final
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. squash — to crush
  18. staff — a stick
  19. staff — employees
  20. rush — a thrill
  21. bank — for money
  22. bank — of a river
  23. squash — the vegetable
  24. wax — in the ear

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