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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 120 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 smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  15. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  21. I can't ________________ this cold.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — for spectators
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. pound — for dogs
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. mine — for digging
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. wax — to grow
  8. pound — to hit hard
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. pound — a weight
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. pass — to succeed
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. pass — a permit
  15. pass — to spend time
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. stand — on your feet
  18. shower — to wash
  19. cold — not warm
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. stand — to bear
  22. cold — an illness
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  24. shower — rain

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