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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. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  2. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. Did you ________________ the meat?
  14. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  23. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. squash — the vegetable
  3. season — of the year
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. last — final
  6. last — finally
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. squash — to crush
  9. season — in sport
  10. last — to go on
  11. pit — in a race
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. season — to add flavour
  14. pit — a fruit stone
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. net — in sport
  17. squash — the sport
  18. hand — in cards
  19. pit — a hole
  20. net — for catching
  21. net — after costs
  22. wax — in the ear
  23. wax — for sculpting
  24. hand — help

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