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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. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  8. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  15. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. Have you settled on a ________________?
  24. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. date — the fruit
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. net — for catching
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. cold — an illness
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. spring — a coil
  11. squash — to crush
  12. squash — the sport
  13. cold — not warm
  14. mouse — for a computer
  15. lie — to recline
  16. spring — the season
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. net — after costs
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. spring — of water
  21. wax — to grow
  22. net — in sport
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. date — on the calendar

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