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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. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  6. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  12. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  13. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  14. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  19. That must've been a ________________.
  20. My mare is ________________ in color.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the vegetable
  2. land — ground
  3. bay — a part of the sea
  4. squash — the sport
  5. squash — to crush
  6. rush — hurry
  7. spring — of water
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. stick — to attach or keep to
  10. spring — the season
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. rush — to hurry
  13. bay — to keep at bay
  14. wax — for sculpting
  15. wax — to grow
  16. land — a country
  17. spring — a coil
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. rush — a thrill
  20. bay — a horse colour
  21. file — a tool
  22. land — to come down
  23. file — a line of people
  24. file — a document

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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