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

Word bank: content · squash · wax · pop · wound · row · jam · last

  1. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  3. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  13. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  14. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  22. You don't need to ________________ round.
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. We're almost out of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. jam — in traffic
  3. squash — the sport
  4. last — final
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. last — finally
  7. wound — an injury
  8. squash — to crush
  9. content — the amount
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. wound — an injury
  12. pop — music
  13. jam — to spread on bread
  14. squash — the vegetable
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. content — happy
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. row — to paddle
  19. wax — to grow
  20. last — to go on
  21. jam — a tight spot
  22. pop — to visit
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. pop — soda

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