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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. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  2. My mare is ________________ in color.
  3. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  4. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  23. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  24. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. bay — a horse colour
  3. pound — to hit hard
  4. pound — a weight
  5. kid — to tease
  6. stock — shares
  7. pound — for dogs
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. bay — to keep at bay
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. field — for sport
  13. field — a subject
  14. fall — the season
  15. field — farmland
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. bay — a part of the sea
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. stock — goods
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. kid — child
  22. wax — to grow
  23. trunk — of an elephant
  24. fall — to drop

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