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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. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  2. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  8. Don't do anything ________________.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. He works in a ________________ mill.
  12. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. Where did you ________________ them?
  17. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  18. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  19. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  20. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  21. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — a face
  2. deal — a big deal
  3. wax — to grow
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. rash — on the skin
  6. cold — an illness
  7. mug — a cup
  8. rash — hasty
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. cold — not warm
  11. saw — the tool
  12. pound — a weight
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. saw — the tool
  15. rash — a series
  16. mug — to rob
  17. pound — to hit hard
  18. pound — for dogs
  19. deal — an agreement
  20. wax — for sculpting
  21. deal — to handle
  22. band — a music group
  23. saw — past of 'see'
  24. band — a ring

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