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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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
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: row · ground · wax · mine · bowl · pit · squash · last

  1. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  7. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  15. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — to crush
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. ground — a position
  4. bowl — to roll
  5. last — finally
  6. bowl — a football final
  7. pit — a fruit stone
  8. ground — crushed
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. last — final
  11. bowl — a dish
  12. row — to paddle
  13. squash — the sport
  14. squash — the vegetable
  15. wax — for sculpting
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. ground — the earth
  18. pit — a hole
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. last — to go on
  21. row — a line
  22. pit — in a race
  23. mine — for digging
  24. wax — to grow

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