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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. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  9. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  20. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  21. He is an ace ________________.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  24. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. cap — of ice
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. squash — the sport
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. squash — to crush
  8. vault — a safe
  9. vault — an arched ceiling
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. wax — to grow
  12. land — a country
  13. prune — to trim
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. patient — calm and waiting
  16. prune — to trim
  17. land — to come down
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. vault — in gymnastics
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. pitcher — in baseball
  22. land — ground
  23. cap — a hat
  24. cap — a lid

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