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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. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  2. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. You don't need to ________________ round.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  8. We're almost out of ________________.
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  17. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  18. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  19. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  20. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. Add some ________________ pepper to it.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — to hit hard
  2. sharp — clever
  3. wax — to grow
  4. clip — for paper
  5. pop — to visit
  6. clip — a video
  7. pound — a weight
  8. pop — soda
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. clip — to cut
  11. wound — an injury
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. current — of water
  14. ground — the earth
  15. wound — an injury
  16. current — electric
  17. wax — for sculpting
  18. wax — in the ear
  19. pound — for dogs
  20. pop — music
  21. ground — a position
  22. current — happening now
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. ground — crushed

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