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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. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  2. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  6. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. This piece is in a major ________________.
  12. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  13. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  14. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. That must've been a ________________.
  19. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  24. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the vegetable
  2. can — a tin
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. squash — to crush
  5. rush — hurry
  6. key — for a lock
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. wax — to grow
  9. row — a line
  10. cell — a phone
  11. key — in music
  12. fine — high quality
  13. rush — to hurry
  14. wax — for sculpting
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. key — the most important part
  17. cell — in biology
  18. rush — a thrill
  19. fine — a penalty
  20. squash — the sport
  21. fine — all right
  22. row — to paddle
  23. can — to be able to
  24. can — a tin

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