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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 116 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 was your ________________ profit last year?
  2. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. My mare is ________________ in color.
  6. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  7. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  10. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  11. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. What do you think of the new ________________?
  23. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. lean — to bend
  3. lean — thin
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. bay — a horse colour
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. squash — the sport
  8. degree — from a university
  9. mouse — for a computer
  10. cabinet — a cupboard
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. degree — an amount
  14. bay — a part of the sea
  15. squash — to crush
  16. net — for catching
  17. net — in sport
  18. mouse — the animal
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. bay — to keep at bay
  21. wax — to grow
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. lean — to rest against
  24. degree — temperature

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