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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 teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  2. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  3. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  6. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  7. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  10. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  11. We're on a ________________ here.
  12. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  13. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  14. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  20. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  21. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a list
  2. vault — a safe
  3. pound — to hit hard
  4. wax — to grow
  5. dip — to sink
  6. dip — a sauce
  7. dip — to dunk
  8. ground — the earth
  9. pound — for dogs
  10. vault — an arched ceiling
  11. roll — on a roll
  12. roll — a cake
  13. kick — with a leg
  14. kick — a thrill
  15. ground — a position
  16. pound — a weight
  17. wind — moving air
  18. ground — crushed
  19. kick — in football
  20. vault — in gymnastics
  21. wax — for sculpting
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. wind — moving air

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