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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 116 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. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. Have you met the new head ________________?
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  13. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  14. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  22. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  24. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. wax — to grow
  3. squash — the vegetable
  4. spell — a short time
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. spell — letters
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. spell — magic
  10. coach — pulled by horses
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. board — a flat piece
  13. cap — a hat
  14. board — a committee
  15. cap — a lid
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. branch — a division
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. mine — for digging
  21. cap — of ice
  22. board — to get on
  23. branch — of a bank
  24. squash — to crush

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