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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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  3. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  6. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  9. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  10. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  14. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  19. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. He is an ace ________________.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. squash — the vegetable
  3. toast — a drink to someone
  4. squash — to crush
  5. toast — the most admired
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. file — a line of people
  8. mark — a trace
  9. calf — of the leg
  10. mark — a grade
  11. last — final
  12. file — a tool
  13. toast — bread
  14. wax — for sculpting
  15. squash — the sport
  16. wax — to grow
  17. file — a document
  18. mark — to pay attention
  19. wax — in the ear
  20. last — finally
  21. pitcher — in baseball
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. last — to go on
  24. calf — a young animal

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