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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. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  3. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  4. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  5. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  23. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  24. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. vault — in gymnastics
  3. squash — the vegetable
  4. bowl — a football final
  5. vault — a safe
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. wax — to grow
  8. lash — an eyelash
  9. prune — to trim
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. squash — the sport
  14. bowl — to roll
  15. field — a subject
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. squash — to crush
  18. prune — to trim
  19. field — farmland
  20. lash — to lash out
  21. field — for sport
  22. vault — an arched ceiling
  23. lash — a whip stroke
  24. perch — the fish

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