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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 116 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. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  2. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  3. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  15. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  16. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  17. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!

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

Answer key

  1. pound — to hit hard
  2. bore — to tire
  3. lean — to bend
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. race — the arms race
  6. field — for sport
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. bear — the animal
  9. wax — to grow
  10. lean — to rest against
  11. field — a subject
  12. bear — the animal
  13. band — a music group
  14. lean — thin
  15. pound — for dogs
  16. pound — a weight
  17. bore — to drill
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. band — a ring
  20. bore — gave birth
  21. race — a contest
  22. field — farmland
  23. race — humankind
  24. bear — to put up with

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