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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. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  19. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. He keeps ________________ of his days.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — to crush
  2. fall — to drop
  3. track — a path
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. squash — the vegetable
  6. squash — the sport
  7. fall — to drop
  8. spring — of water
  9. track — a song
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. ruler — for measuring
  14. band — a music group
  15. ruler — a monarch
  16. wax — to grow
  17. fall — the season
  18. wax — in the ear
  19. ruler — for measuring
  20. mine — for digging
  21. spring — a coil
  22. band — a ring
  23. spring — the season
  24. track — to keep track

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