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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. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. Where did you ________________ them?
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  19. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  23. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  24. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. prune — the fruit
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. mug — a face
  5. bat — the animal
  6. bark — to shout
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. prune — to trim
  10. wax — to grow
  11. mug — to rob
  12. squash — to crush
  13. ground — a position
  14. deal — a big deal
  15. prune — to trim
  16. ground — the earth
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. squash — the vegetable
  19. deal — an agreement
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. mug — a cup
  23. squash — the sport
  24. deal — to handle

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