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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  4. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  10. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  16. My mare is ________________ in color.
  17. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  18. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. mine — for digging
  3. bay — to keep at bay
  4. vault — an arched ceiling
  5. tube — the underground
  6. wax — to grow
  7. pound — to hit hard
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. bay — a part of the sea
  10. pound — for dogs
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. vault — a safe
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. kid — child
  15. tube — a container
  16. bay — a horse colour
  17. tube — in a tire
  18. vault — in gymnastics
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. pound — a weight
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. row — to paddle
  24. row — a line

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