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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. I'll be taking the ________________.
  4. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  7. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  8. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  9. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  10. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  11. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  18. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  19. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  20. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  21. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  22. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  23. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. march — music
  3. tube — the underground
  4. stem — of a plant
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. dip — a sauce
  7. dip — to dunk
  8. tube — a container
  9. object — to protest
  10. dip — to sink
  11. pound — to hit hard
  12. march — the month
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. march — the month
  15. wax — to grow
  16. kid — child
  17. pound — for dogs
  18. stem — to come from
  19. object — a thing
  20. object — an aim
  21. tube — in a tire
  22. pound — a weight
  23. wax — for sculpting
  24. stem — a stem cell

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