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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 124 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. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  2. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  8. When was this ________________ built?
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  22. We're almost out of ________________.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. You don't need to ________________ round.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. squash — the sport
  3. last — finally
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. bat — the animal
  7. temple — side of the head
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. foot — part of the body
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. pop — music
  13. wax — to grow
  14. last — to go on
  15. foot — a measure
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. foot — the bottom
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. squash — to crush
  22. pop — soda
  23. last — final
  24. pop — to visit

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