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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. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  14. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  15. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the vegetable
  2. tear — to rip
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. pitch — a sports field
  5. march — the month
  6. tear — from crying
  7. present — there
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. march — music
  10. squash — to crush
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. tear — from crying
  13. pass — a permit
  14. pass — to spend time
  15. present — a gift
  16. wax — to grow
  17. present — the time now
  18. pass — to succeed
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. pitch — completely
  21. squash — the sport
  22. pitch — a sales talk
  23. mine — for digging
  24. march — the month

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