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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 ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  4. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  10. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  11. Have you settled on a ________________?
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  23. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. bat — the animal
  3. cue — a signal
  4. cue — for pool
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. hand — help
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. squash — to crush
  9. date — the fruit
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. hand — in cards
  15. wax — for sculpting
  16. squash — the sport
  17. mine — for digging
  18. cue — a hint
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. last — finally
  21. last — final
  22. squash — the vegetable
  23. wax — to grow
  24. last — to go on

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