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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. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. You don't need to ________________ round.
  8. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  9. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  10. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  11. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  12. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  15. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  19. We're almost out of ________________.
  20. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  21. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  22. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  23. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. wax — to grow
  4. present — the time now
  5. rash — hasty
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. pop — to visit
  8. root — of a plant
  9. root — of a word
  10. wax — in the ear
  11. pop — music
  12. present — there
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. squash — the vegetable
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. cold — not warm
  17. squash — to crush
  18. stick — to attach or keep to
  19. pop — soda
  20. rash — a series
  21. root — the cause
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. present — a gift
  24. cold — an illness

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