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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. There's no middle ________________.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  6. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  15. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  16. This piece is in a major ________________.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  19. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  20. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  23. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. chair — a leader
  3. wax — to grow
  4. present — a gift
  5. present — there
  6. key — the most important part
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. perch — the fish
  11. prune — to trim
  12. prune — to trim
  13. squash — the sport
  14. squash — the vegetable
  15. present — the time now
  16. key — in music
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. squash — to crush
  20. key — for a lock
  21. ground — crushed
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. chair — a professorship
  24. ground — the earth

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