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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. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  5. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  19. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  22. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. last — to go on
  4. bank — for money
  5. fork — a garden tool
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. bank — for money
  8. last — final
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. squash — to crush
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. squash — the sport
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. fork — to eat with
  17. prune — to trim
  18. fork — in a road
  19. wax — to grow
  20. kid — child
  21. bank — of a river
  22. prune — to trim
  23. last — finally
  24. kid — to tease

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