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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. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  7. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  8. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  9. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  10. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  11. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  12. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  20. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  23. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  24. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — for dogs
  2. wax — to grow
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. tube — the underground
  6. tube — a container
  7. jam — a tight spot
  8. bear — to put up with
  9. bear — the animal
  10. wax — for sculpting
  11. present — a gift
  12. bear — the animal
  13. mine — for digging
  14. jam — in traffic
  15. bat — the animal
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. pound — to hit hard
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. present — the time now
  20. pound — a weight
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. jam — to spread on bread
  23. tube — in a tire
  24. present — there

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