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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. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  10. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  17. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  18. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  21. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  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. object — to protest
  2. wax — to grow
  3. pitch — completely
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. row — to paddle
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. pitch — a sales talk
  9. club — for dancing
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. cold — an illness
  12. calf — of the leg
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. club — for golf
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. club — a group
  17. object — an aim
  18. object — a thing
  19. cold — not warm
  20. pitch — a sports field
  21. wax — for sculpting
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. pitcher — a jug
  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