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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. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. The ________________ took off on time.
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  19. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  20. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  21. What do you think of the new ________________?
  22. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  24. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — a cupboard
  2. march — music
  3. plane — an aircraft
  4. present — a gift
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. wound — an injury
  7. march — the month
  8. kid — to tease
  9. squash — the sport
  10. wax — to grow
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. wound — an injury
  13. march — the month
  14. wax — for sculpting
  15. kid — child
  16. present — there
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. plane — in geometry
  19. wax — in the ear
  20. squash — to crush
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. present — the time now
  24. plane — a tool

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