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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. False peace will not ________________.
  2. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. We're almost out of ________________.
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. You don't need to ________________ round.
  19. I'll be taking the ________________.
  20. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  24. The polar ice ________________ is melting.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. cap — a hat
  3. cap — a lid
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. tube — in a tire
  6. wax — to grow
  7. pop — soda
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. kid — to tease
  10. last — finally
  11. squash — the sport
  12. squash — to crush
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. pop — music
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. sharp — clever
  18. pop — to visit
  19. tube — the underground
  20. tube — a container
  21. last — final
  22. kid — child
  23. sharp — with an edge
  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