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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 120 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. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  8. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. The King held a masked ________________.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  23. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  24. She got the top ________________ in the exam.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the vegetable
  2. chest — of your body
  3. squash — the sport
  4. land — to come down
  5. land — a country
  6. wax — to grow
  7. leaves — to go away
  8. mark — a trace
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. leaves — lets stay
  11. shower — rain
  12. mark — to pay attention
  13. squash — to crush
  14. chest — a box
  15. shower — to wash
  16. land — ground
  17. ball — a great time
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. ball — a dance
  20. chest — of your body
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. ball — a round shape
  23. leaves — of a tree
  24. mark — a grade

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