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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. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. You don't need to ________________ round.
  17. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  18. We're almost out of ________________.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. mark — to pay attention
  3. season — of the year
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. mark — a trace
  6. sharp — clever
  7. wax — to grow
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. pop — music
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. mark — a grade
  13. bark — to shout
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. squash — to crush
  16. pop — to visit
  17. season — in sport
  18. pop — soda
  19. land — ground
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. land — a country
  22. land — to come down
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. wax — for sculpting

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