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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. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  4. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  5. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  11. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  12. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  17. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  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. squash — the vegetable
  2. tear — from crying
  3. fan — to cool the air
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. stem — of a plant
  6. squash — the sport
  7. wax — to grow
  8. stem — to come from
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. scale — size or range
  11. scale — in music
  12. hide — animal skin
  13. court — for sport
  14. court — of a king
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. squash — to crush
  19. wax — in the ear
  20. court — of law
  21. tear — to rip
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. stem — a stem cell
  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