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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: squash · wax · snap · dip · bat · lean · mug · race

  1. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  2. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. Where did you ________________ them?
  5. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  18. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  19. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  20. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  24. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the vegetable
  2. race — humankind
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. mug — to rob
  5. lean — thin
  6. snap — to click
  7. squash — to crush
  8. wax — to grow
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. race — a contest
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. mug — a cup
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. dip — a sauce
  15. race — the arms race
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. mug — a face
  18. wax — in the ear
  19. dip — to dunk
  20. lean — to bend
  21. squash — the sport
  22. bat — the animal
  23. lean — to rest against
  24. dip — to sink

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