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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. He is an ace ________________.
  2. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  10. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. Did you ________________ the meat?
  15. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  16. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  17. That was ________________ to happen.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. What do you think of the new ________________?
  22. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  23. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  24. Spring is a pleasant ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — in baseball
  2. squash — the vegetable
  3. season — in sport
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. squash — the sport
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. field — a subject
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. scale — for weighing
  10. cabinet — a cupboard
  11. squash — to crush
  12. scale — size or range
  13. field — for sport
  14. season — to add flavour
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. bound — obliged
  17. bound — certain
  18. scale — in music
  19. bound — tied together
  20. field — farmland
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. wax — to grow
  23. wax — for sculpting
  24. season — of the year

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