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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. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  5. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  6. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  7. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  11. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  19. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  22. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  23. The ________________ took off on time.
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. land — to come down
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. chip — to eat
  5. squash — the vegetable
  6. racket — a loud noise
  7. plane — in geometry
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. mouse — the animal
  12. squash — to crush
  13. mouse — for a computer
  14. land — a country
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. wax — to grow
  17. chip — in a computer
  18. squash — the sport
  19. chip — for betting
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. plane — a tool
  23. plane — an aircraft
  24. land — ground

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