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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 coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  4. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  5. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  8. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. David sat on the ________________.
  11. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  12. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  19. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  20. The King held a masked ________________.
  21. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  22. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  23. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — in golf
  2. prune — to trim
  3. squash — the sport
  4. pound — to hit hard
  5. ball — a great time
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. pitch — completely
  8. wax — to grow
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. swing — to play on
  11. ball — a round shape
  12. swing — music
  13. prune — to trim
  14. squash — to crush
  15. cell — a phone
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. cell — in biology
  18. pitch — a sales talk
  19. pitch — a sports field
  20. ball — a dance
  21. pound — for dogs
  22. squash — the vegetable
  23. pound — a weight
  24. cell — in a prison

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