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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'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  9. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  18. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. wound — an injury
  3. root — the cause
  4. spell — magic
  5. squash — to crush
  6. spell — letters
  7. wax — to grow
  8. deal — an agreement
  9. deal — to handle
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. wound — an injury
  12. net — for catching
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. net — in sport
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. spell — a short time
  17. root — of a plant
  18. deal — a big deal
  19. net — after costs
  20. mine — for digging
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. root — of a word
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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