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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. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. She's very handy with a ________________.
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. We're almost out of ________________.
  18. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  19. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  22. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — to visit
  2. saw — past of 'see'
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. saw — the tool
  5. squash — the sport
  6. firm — decided
  7. squash — to crush
  8. wind — moving air
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. pop — music
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. wind — moving air
  13. wax — to grow
  14. saw — the tool
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. pop — soda
  18. present — the time now
  19. present — a gift
  20. hand — help
  21. firm — steady
  22. present — there
  23. hand — in cards
  24. firm — a company

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