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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. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  3. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. We're almost out of ________________.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  11. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  12. You don't need to ________________ round.
  13. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. How do you ________________ your surname?
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  22. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  23. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. dip — to sink
  3. squash — the vegetable
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. pop — soda
  6. mine — for digging
  7. dip — a sauce
  8. squash — the sport
  9. prune — to trim
  10. wax — in the ear
  11. spell — magic
  12. pop — to visit
  13. bowl — to roll
  14. squash — to crush
  15. pop — music
  16. wax — to grow
  17. spell — letters
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. bowl — a dish
  20. spell — a short time
  21. dip — to dunk
  22. prune — to trim
  23. bowl — a football final
  24. prune — the fruit

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