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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 museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  7. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. I can't ________________ this cold.
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. squash — the vegetable
  3. track — a song
  4. face — to confront
  5. chair — a leader
  6. stand — for spectators
  7. track — a path
  8. spring — the season
  9. wax — to grow
  10. march — the month
  11. spring — of water
  12. spring — a coil
  13. stand — on your feet
  14. face — to point toward
  15. march — the month
  16. stand — to bear
  17. face — part of the head
  18. squash — to crush
  19. track — to keep track
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. march — music
  22. squash — the sport
  23. chair — to sit on
  24. chair — a professorship

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