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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. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  2. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. The ________________ took off on time.
  10. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  21. Did you ________________ the meat?
  22. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. squash — to crush
  3. plane — in geometry
  4. net — in sport
  5. plane — a tool
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. file — a document
  8. shower — rain
  9. plane — an aircraft
  10. wax — in the ear
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. squash — the sport
  13. season — of the year
  14. bowl — a football final
  15. net — for catching
  16. shower — to wash
  17. net — after costs
  18. file — a line of people
  19. season — in sport
  20. bowl — a dish
  21. season — to add flavour
  22. bowl — to roll
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. file — a tool

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