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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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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: mark · rash · land · hand · board · wax · row · squash

  1. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  13. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  14. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  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. mark — a grade
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. wax — to grow
  5. squash — to crush
  6. hand — in cards
  7. land — to come down
  8. squash — the sport
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. row — a line
  11. rash — hasty
  12. board — a committee
  13. board — a flat piece
  14. board — to get on
  15. row — to paddle
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. mark — a trace
  19. land — ground
  20. land — a country
  21. hand — help
  22. mark — to pay attention
  23. rash — a series
  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