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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. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. Where did you ________________ them?
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  6. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  7. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  8. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  9. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  14. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  24. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. mug — to rob
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. pit — a hole
  6. mug — a cup
  7. squash — the sport
  8. bass — the instrument
  9. bass — the fish
  10. squash — to crush
  11. rule — a law
  12. cold — an illness
  13. rule — government
  14. pit — in a race
  15. wax — to grow
  16. rule — to rule out
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. mug — a face
  22. cold — not warm
  23. bass — low music
  24. pit — a fruit stone

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