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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. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  3. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  4. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  5. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  16. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  24. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. staff — employees
  3. can — a tin
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. band — a music group
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. stick — to attach or keep to
  9. spring — a coil
  10. can — to be able to
  11. wax — to grow
  12. last — final
  13. squash — to crush
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. wax — for sculpting
  16. staff — a stick
  17. spring — the season
  18. band — a ring
  19. last — finally
  20. last — to go on
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. spring — of water
  23. can — a tin
  24. staff — employees

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