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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 116 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. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  9. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  10. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  11. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  14. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  15. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  16. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  17. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  18. We're almost out of ________________.
  19. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  20. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the vegetable
  2. wax — to grow
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. pop — to visit
  5. cold — not warm
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. bore — to tire
  9. bore — to drill
  10. track — to keep track
  11. squash — the sport
  12. wake — a trail
  13. track — a path
  14. pitch — completely
  15. pitch — a sales talk
  16. squash — to crush
  17. bore — gave birth
  18. pop — soda
  19. track — a song
  20. pitch — a sports field
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. cold — an illness
  23. wake — to stop sleeping
  24. pop — music

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