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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 116 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 muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  16. You don't need to ________________ round.
  17. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  18. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. We're almost out of ________________.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. pop — music
  5. ground — crushed
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. squash — the sport
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. ground — the earth
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. wax — to grow
  13. ground — a position
  14. squash — to crush
  15. wax — for sculpting
  16. pop — to visit
  17. track — a song
  18. track — to keep track
  19. wound — an injury
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. wake — a trail
  22. pop — soda
  23. wound — an injury
  24. bat — the animal

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