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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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  6. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  11. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the vegetable
  2. content — happy
  3. sharp — with an edge
  4. prune — to trim
  5. firm — decided
  6. firm — a company
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. squash — the sport
  9. chest — of your body
  10. wax — in the ear
  11. firm — steady
  12. last — to go on
  13. chest — a box
  14. prune — to trim
  15. wax — for sculpting
  16. content — the amount
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. last — final
  19. wax — to grow
  20. sharp — clever
  21. chest — of your body
  22. last — finally
  23. squash — to crush
  24. content — videos and posts

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