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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. What do you think of the new ________________?
  2. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  3. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  8. Where did you ________________ them?
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  11. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  15. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  18. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  19. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  20. That was ________________ to happen.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  23. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. mug — a face
  3. bound — tied together
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. band — a ring
  6. band — a music group
  7. squash — the sport
  8. mug — to rob
  9. wax — to grow
  10. safe — out of danger
  11. safe — out of danger
  12. chest — of your body
  13. squash — to crush
  14. bound — obliged
  15. wax — for sculpting
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. mug — a cup
  18. cabinet — a cupboard
  19. squash — the vegetable
  20. bound — certain
  21. chest — of your body
  22. safe — a strongbox
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. chest — a box

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