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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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  9. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  13. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  14. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  20. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  21. What do you think of the new ________________?
  22. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  23. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  24. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. fork — to eat with
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. wax — to grow
  9. kick — with a leg
  10. tube — the underground
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. kick — in football
  13. fork — in a road
  14. bass — the fish
  15. squash — the sport
  16. bass — the instrument
  17. squash — to crush
  18. tube — a container
  19. fork — a garden tool
  20. bass — low music
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. tube — in a tire
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. cabinet — a cupboard

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