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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. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. Don't do anything ________________.
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  12. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  13. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  14. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  17. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  23. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  24. The players ran onto the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the vegetable
  2. pass — to succeed
  3. mine — for digging
  4. pass — a permit
  5. squash — the sport
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. squash — to crush
  8. rash — hasty
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. field — a subject
  11. craft — a handicraft
  12. craft — boats
  13. pass — to spend time
  14. pitch — a sales talk
  15. rash — a series
  16. pitch — completely
  17. wax — to grow
  18. field — farmland
  19. field — for sport
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. craft — a skill
  23. rash — on the skin
  24. pitch — a sports field

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