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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. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  5. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  13. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  22. She's very handy with a ________________.
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. land — to come down
  4. pound — a weight
  5. saw — past of 'see'
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. wave — with your hand
  8. cell — in biology
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. wave — a sudden rise
  11. land — a country
  12. scale — size or range
  13. pound — to hit hard
  14. saw — the tool
  15. land — ground
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. wave — of the sea
  18. squash — to crush
  19. wax — to grow
  20. scale — in music
  21. pound — for dogs
  22. saw — the tool
  23. cell — a phone
  24. scale — for weighing

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