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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. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  2. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  9. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  12. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  13. We're almost out of ________________.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  20. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  21. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  22. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  23. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  24. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. squash — to crush
  3. fall — to drop
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. fall — the season
  6. pop — to visit
  7. mate — a partner
  8. pop — music
  9. deal — to handle
  10. cell — in biology
  11. trunk — of an elephant
  12. squash — the sport
  13. pop — soda
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. cell — a phone
  18. fall — to drop
  19. mate — to breed
  20. deal — an agreement
  21. mate — a friend
  22. squash — the vegetable
  23. deal — a big deal
  24. wax — in the ear

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