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

  1. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  10. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  16. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  17. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. pound — for dogs
  3. chest — of your body
  4. squash — to crush
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. chest — a box
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. squash — the sport
  10. wax — in the ear
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. wax — to grow
  14. chest — of your body
  15. pound — to hit hard
  16. pound — a weight
  17. hide — animal skin
  18. chair — a leader

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