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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. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  4. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  14. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  15. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  16. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  17. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  18. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  19. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  22. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. We're on a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the vegetable
  2. content — the amount
  3. face — part of the head
  4. roll — a list
  5. prune — to trim
  6. rest — what's left
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. face — to point toward
  9. wax — to grow
  10. content — happy
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. squash — to crush
  13. object — to protest
  14. squash — the sport
  15. rest — a break
  16. roll — a cake
  17. rest — what's left
  18. wax — in the ear
  19. face — to confront
  20. prune — to trim
  21. object — an aim
  22. object — a thing
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. roll — on a roll

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