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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 president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  14. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  15. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  16. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  17. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  18. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  23. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — to crush
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. game — a match
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. game — wild animals
  6. staff — a stick
  7. clip — for paper
  8. staff — employees
  9. clip — to cut
  10. fall — the season
  11. track — to keep track
  12. fall — to drop
  13. leaves — of a tree
  14. fall — to drop
  15. staff — employees
  16. track — a path
  17. leaves — to go away
  18. track — a song
  19. clip — a video
  20. leaves — lets stay
  21. wax — to grow
  22. wax — in the ear
  23. squash — the sport
  24. game — a kind of play

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