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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. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. The ________________ took off on time.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  16. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  17. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — to crush
  2. wax — to grow
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. squash — the sport
  5. kid — child
  6. band — a ring
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. plane — a tool
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. band — a music group
  13. plane — an aircraft
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. leaves — of a tree
  16. plane — in geometry
  17. leaves — to go away
  18. kid — to tease
  19. leaves — lets stay
  20. content — the amount
  21. game — wild animals
  22. squash — the vegetable
  23. game — a match
  24. content — happy

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