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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. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  2. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  5. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  6. The King held a masked ________________.
  7. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  14. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  18. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  19. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. That must've been a ________________.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — to crush
  2. wound — an injury
  3. land — to come down
  4. ball — a round shape
  5. rush — hurry
  6. ball — a dance
  7. rush — to hurry
  8. squash — the sport
  9. file — a tool
  10. leaves — lets stay
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. file — a line of people
  13. leaves — to go away
  14. ball — a great time
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. wound — an injury
  17. leaves — of a tree
  18. squash — the vegetable
  19. wax — in the ear
  20. land — ground
  21. wax — to grow
  22. rush — a thrill
  23. file — a document
  24. land — a country

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