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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. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  8. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  9. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  12. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  13. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  18. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  19. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  20. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the vegetable
  2. race — a contest
  3. squash — to crush
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. present — a gift
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. pitch — a sports field
  9. bass — low music
  10. race — humankind
  11. stick — to attach or keep to
  12. pitch — a sales talk
  13. present — the time now
  14. wax — to grow
  15. bass — the instrument
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. bass — the fish
  18. pitch — completely
  19. present — there
  20. stick — a piece of wood
  21. squash — the sport
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. race — the arms race
  24. hide — animal skin

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