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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. He was locked up in a ________________.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  11. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  16. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. How do you ________________ your surname?
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  22. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. Should I buy a wireless ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in a prison
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. spell — a short time
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. cell — a phone
  7. kid — to tease
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. spell — magic
  12. bat — the animal
  13. squash — to crush
  14. cell — in biology
  15. pitch — completely
  16. pitch — a sports field
  17. squash — the sport
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. spell — letters
  20. kid — child
  21. pitch — a sales talk
  22. wax — to grow
  23. squash — the vegetable
  24. mouse — for a computer

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