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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 120 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 museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  16. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  17. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  22. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  23. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  24. The ________________ went through the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. squash — the vegetable
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. wax — to grow
  6. leaves — of a tree
  7. chest — of your body
  8. leaves — lets stay
  9. field — farmland
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. field — a subject
  12. field — for sport
  13. hide — animal skin
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. nail — on a finger
  17. leaves — to go away
  18. squash — the sport
  19. chest — of your body
  20. chest — a box
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. squash — to crush
  24. nail — for a hammer

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