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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. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  3. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  4. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  5. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  9. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  10. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  23. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  24. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. bank — for money
  3. lash — to lash out
  4. board — a committee
  5. pound — for dogs
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. wax — to grow
  8. lash — a whip stroke
  9. board — a flat piece
  10. wax — for sculpting
  11. cold — not warm
  12. squash — to crush
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. capital — money
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. board — to get on
  17. capital — a city
  18. bank — for money
  19. cold — an illness
  20. lash — an eyelash
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. pound — to hit hard
  23. pound — a weight
  24. bank — of a river

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