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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. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. What do you think of the new ________________?
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. cabinet — a cupboard
  3. wax — to grow
  4. race — humankind
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. row — a line
  8. kid — to tease
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. row — to paddle
  13. kid — child
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. squash — the sport
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. hide — animal skin
  19. race — the arms race
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. squash — to crush
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. race — a contest
  24. hand — help

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