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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. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  7. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  10. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  19. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  20. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  21. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. chest — of your body
  3. squash — the vegetable
  4. clip — for paper
  5. clip — a video
  6. craft — a handicraft
  7. firm — a company
  8. field — a subject
  9. firm — steady
  10. ruler — for measuring
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. chest — a box
  13. ruler — a monarch
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. firm — decided
  16. field — for sport
  17. clip — to cut
  18. squash — the sport
  19. craft — a skill
  20. squash — to crush
  21. ruler — for measuring
  22. field — farmland
  23. craft — boats
  24. chest — of your body

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