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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. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  4. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  5. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  8. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  9. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  10. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  11. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  12. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  20. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  21. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  22. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  23. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. rock — to move gently
  4. bowl — a football final
  5. deal — a big deal
  6. land — a country
  7. bowl — a dish
  8. present — the time now
  9. squash — the sport
  10. wax — in the ear
  11. deal — to handle
  12. present — a gift
  13. bat — the animal
  14. rock — a stone
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. land — ground
  17. deal — an agreement
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. wax — to grow
  20. squash — to crush
  21. rock — music
  22. squash — the vegetable
  23. present — there
  24. land — to come down

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