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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. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  5. What do you think of the new ________________?
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  10. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — to crush
  2. wax — to grow
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. branch — a division
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. track — a path
  8. wound — an injury
  9. cabinet — a cupboard
  10. wax — for sculpting
  11. row — a line
  12. branch — of a bank
  13. shower — to wash
  14. track — a song
  15. wound — an injury
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. track — to keep track
  18. shower — rain
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. squash — the sport
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. row — to paddle
  24. squash — the vegetable

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