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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. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  2. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  3. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. Have you met the new head ________________?
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  15. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. The ________________ went through the wall.
  23. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  24. I'd like to play a game of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the vegetable
  2. cap — a lid
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. net — after costs
  5. cap — of ice
  6. clip — a video
  7. cap — a hat
  8. coach — pulled by horses
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. squash — to crush
  11. clip — for paper
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. net — for catching
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. nail — on a finger
  16. land — ground
  17. wax — for sculpting
  18. clip — to cut
  19. land — a country
  20. land — to come down
  21. net — in sport
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. wax — to grow
  24. squash — the 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