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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. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  9. I'll be taking the ________________.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  18. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  24. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — a weight
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. cap — a hat
  4. band — a music group
  5. pound — to hit hard
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. cap — of ice
  8. pound — for dogs
  9. tube — the underground
  10. prune — to trim
  11. last — final
  12. wax — to grow
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. band — a ring
  15. last — to go on
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. tube — in a tire
  18. cap — a lid
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. last — finally
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. prune — to trim
  24. tube — a container

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