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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. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  4. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  5. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  14. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  22. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  23. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  24. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the vegetable
  2. court — of a king
  3. bass — low music
  4. face — to point toward
  5. face — part of the head
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. court — of law
  11. squash — to crush
  12. clip — to cut
  13. face — to confront
  14. squash — the sport
  15. court — for sport
  16. lash — a whip stroke
  17. clip — a video
  18. clip — for paper
  19. wax — to grow
  20. sharp — clever
  21. bass — the instrument
  22. bass — the fish
  23. lash — an eyelash
  24. lash — to lash out

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