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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 124 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 blown up by a land ________________.
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  6. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  7. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  8. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. The King held a masked ________________.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. wax — to grow
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. squash — to crush
  5. ball — a round shape
  6. ball — a great time
  7. firm — steady
  8. firm — a company
  9. mine — for digging
  10. ball — a dance
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. race — humankind
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. hand — help
  15. firm — decided
  16. hand — in cards
  17. squash — the sport
  18. fork — to eat with
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. fork — in a road
  21. race — the arms race
  22. race — a contest
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. squash — the vegetable

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