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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 116 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. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. What do you think of the new ________________?
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  17. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  20. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  21. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. squash — the sport
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. prune — to trim
  6. last — to go on
  7. can — a tin
  8. squash — to crush
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. tube — the underground
  11. tube — in a tire
  12. game — wild animals
  13. squash — the vegetable
  14. last — finally
  15. wax — to grow
  16. tube — a container
  17. can — a tin
  18. game — a match
  19. can — to be able to
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. cabinet — a cupboard
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. prune — to trim
  24. last — final

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