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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. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  2. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. That was ________________ to happen.
  6. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. That must've been a ________________.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  17. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — a weight
  2. spell — magic
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. bound — certain
  6. bound — tied together
  7. land — a country
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. rush — a thrill
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. mine — for digging
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. rush — hurry
  14. spell — a short time
  15. spell — letters
  16. rush — to hurry
  17. pound — for dogs
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. land — to come down
  21. wax — to grow
  22. bound — obliged
  23. land — ground
  24. pound — to hit hard

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