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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. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  2. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. The ________________ went through the wall.
  6. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. That must've been a ________________.
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  18. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  21. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  22. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. I'd like to play a game of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — to crush
  2. rush — to hurry
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. cold — not warm
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. wax — to grow
  8. root — of a word
  9. cold — an illness
  10. mine — for digging
  11. clip — to cut
  12. clip — a video
  13. clip — for paper
  14. rush — a thrill
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. root — the cause
  18. root — of a plant
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. rush — hurry
  21. wax — for sculpting
  22. nail — on a finger
  23. squash — the vegetable
  24. squash — the sport

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