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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. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  20. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  21. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. The tickets are free of ________________.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. mine — for digging
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. squash — the vegetable
  6. field — farmland
  7. charge — in control
  8. squash — the sport
  9. wax — to grow
  10. dip — to dunk
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. dip — to sink
  15. squash — to crush
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. rest — what's left
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. dip — a sauce
  20. rest — a break
  21. charge — electricity
  22. field — a subject
  23. charge — a price
  24. field — for sport

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