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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 sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  11. Where did you ________________ them?
  12. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  21. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  22. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the vegetable
  2. bark — to shout
  3. kick — with a leg
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. wound — an injury
  6. prune — to trim
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. prune — to trim
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. wax — in the ear
  11. mug — to rob
  12. kick — a thrill
  13. wound — an injury
  14. kick — in football
  15. file — a document
  16. squash — the sport
  17. wax — to grow
  18. file — a line of people
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. mug — a cup
  21. mug — a face
  22. squash — to crush
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. file — a tool

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