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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. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  2. You don't need to ________________ round.
  3. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  12. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. We're almost out of ________________.
  20. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  21. That must've been a ________________.
  22. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. You shouldn't ________________ things.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a lid
  2. pop — to visit
  3. bowl — a football final
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. wax — to grow
  6. pop — music
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. fork — in a road
  12. bowl — to roll
  13. wound — an injury
  14. cap — of ice
  15. fork — a garden tool
  16. wound — an injury
  17. bowl — a dish
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. pop — soda
  20. cap — a hat
  21. rush — a thrill
  22. rush — hurry
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. rush — to hurry

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