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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. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  5. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  15. He is an ace ________________.
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  19. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  20. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. The polar ice ________________ is melting.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — a trace
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. cap — a hat
  4. mark — a grade
  5. lean — to bend
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. lean — to rest against
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. wax — to grow
  12. cap — a lid
  13. squash — the sport
  14. lean — thin
  15. pitcher — in baseball
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. mark — to pay attention
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. chair — a leader
  21. cell — in biology
  22. squash — to crush
  23. cell — a phone
  24. cap — of ice

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