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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 116 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. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  6. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  7. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  8. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  9. The ________________ took off on time.
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  12. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  16. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. wax — to grow
  3. cap — a lid
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. vault — an arched ceiling
  6. vault — in gymnastics
  7. squash — the sport
  8. kick — with a leg
  9. plane — an aircraft
  10. cap — of ice
  11. plane — in geometry
  12. vault — a safe
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. plane — a tool
  16. cap — a hat
  17. hand — help
  18. squash — to crush
  19. hand — in cards
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. wake — a trail
  22. wax — in the ear
  23. squash — the vegetable
  24. kick — in football

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