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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. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  2. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — on the skin
  2. pound — for dogs
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. pitch — a sports field
  6. file — a document
  7. file — a line of people
  8. pound — to hit hard
  9. file — a tool
  10. wound — an injury
  11. pitch — a sales talk
  12. net — for catching
  13. pitch — completely
  14. mine — for digging
  15. rash — hasty
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. rash — a series
  19. wound — an injury
  20. net — in sport
  21. pound — a weight
  22. net — after costs
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. wax — to grow

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