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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. The water is too ________________.
  2. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  6. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  7. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  14. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  19. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  20. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. fine — high quality
  3. wax — to grow
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. squash — to crush
  6. fine — all right
  7. fan — to cool the air
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. fine — a penalty
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. board — a committee
  14. mark — to pay attention
  15. cold — an illness
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. mine — for digging
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. mark — a trace
  20. board — a flat piece
  21. squash — the sport
  22. mark — a grade
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. board — to get on

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