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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 moon will ________________ and wane.
  2. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  13. Have you settled on a ________________?
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  17. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. Don't do anything ________________.
  20. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  21. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  22. We're almost out of ________________.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. pop — music
  3. squash — to crush
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. rash — a series
  6. pop — to visit
  7. ground — a position
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. game — a match
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. squash — the sport
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. game — wild animals
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. date — the fruit
  17. wax — for sculpting
  18. ground — crushed
  19. rash — hasty
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. pop — soda
  23. ground — the earth
  24. perch — the fish

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