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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. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  13. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a lid
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. last — to go on
  5. wax — to grow
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. cap — of ice
  8. lean — to bend
  9. prune — to trim
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. wind — moving air
  12. lean — to rest against
  13. lean — thin
  14. last — final
  15. wind — moving air
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. cap — a hat
  18. cell — in biology
  19. last — finally
  20. cell — a phone
  21. squash — the sport
  22. prune — to trim
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. squash — to crush

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