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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. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  2. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  3. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. My mare is ________________ in color.
  10. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  14. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  17. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  24. She got the top ________________ in the exam.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to rest against
  2. mark — to pay attention
  3. lean — to bend
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. pound — a weight
  6. wax — to grow
  7. degree — temperature
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. bay — a horse colour
  10. pound — for dogs
  11. degree — from a university
  12. drill — a practice
  13. lean — thin
  14. pound — to hit hard
  15. degree — an amount
  16. drill — army training
  17. bay — to keep at bay
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. mark — a trace
  22. drill — the tool
  23. bay — a part of the sea
  24. mark — a grade

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