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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. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  6. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  14. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  15. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  16. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  20. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — a company
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. track — a path
  4. wax — to grow
  5. track — to keep track
  6. track — a song
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. row — a line
  10. squash — the sport
  11. squash — to crush
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. firm — decided
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. firm — steady
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. cell — a phone
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. racket — a loud noise
  21. cell — in biology
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. row — to paddle

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