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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 120 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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: chest · squash · wax · saw · bulb · court

  1. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. He works in a ________________ mill.
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  12. I've got to change the light ________________.
  13. The light ________________ burned out.
  14. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. saw — the tool
  3. squash — to crush
  4. court — of law
  5. court — of a king
  6. chest — of your body
  7. court — for sport
  8. saw — the tool
  9. squash — the sport
  10. wax — to grow
  11. bulb — of a plant
  12. bulb — for light
  13. bulb — for light
  14. squash — the vegetable
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. chest — a box
  18. saw — past of 'see'

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