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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. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  2. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  6. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. That must've been a ________________.
  9. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  21. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  22. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  23. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  24. I'd like to play a game of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the vegetable
  2. snap — to snap out of it
  3. snap — to click
  4. cold — not warm
  5. board — a flat piece
  6. board — a committee
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. rush — a thrill
  9. rush — to hurry
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. squash — to crush
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. wax — to grow
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. cold — an illness
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. board — to get on
  22. rush — hurry
  23. fan — to cool the air
  24. squash — the sport

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