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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. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  13. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  23. Don't do anything ________________.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — a series
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. band — a music group
  4. bear — the animal
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. chair — a leader
  7. wax — to grow
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. clip — for paper
  10. squash — to crush
  11. last — to go on
  12. rash — on the skin
  13. bear — the animal
  14. last — final
  15. clip — a video
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. bear — to put up with
  18. band — a ring
  19. squash — the sport
  20. clip — to cut
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. chair — a professorship
  23. rash — hasty
  24. last — finally

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