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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. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. You don't need to ________________ round.
  3. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. We're almost out of ________________.
  6. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  7. What do you think of the new ________________?
  8. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  20. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. pop — to visit
  3. cabinet — a cupboard
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. pop — soda
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. pop — music
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. squash — to crush
  12. cap — a hat
  13. rash — a series
  14. cap — a lid
  15. cap — of ice
  16. tear — to rip
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. tear — from crying
  19. squash — the vegetable
  20. wax — to grow
  21. squash — the sport
  22. wake — a trail
  23. wake — to stop sleeping
  24. tear — from crying

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