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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. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  2. She's very handy with a ________________.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. He works in a ________________ mill.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  17. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  18. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  19. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  23. That was ________________ to happen.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — to hit hard
  2. saw — the tool
  3. chest — a box
  4. band — a ring
  5. chest — of your body
  6. saw — the tool
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. chest — of your body
  9. band — a music group
  10. spring — a coil
  11. wax — to grow
  12. spring — the season
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. bound — obliged
  15. capital — a city
  16. pound — for dogs
  17. wax — for sculpting
  18. pound — a weight
  19. bound — tied together
  20. capital — money
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. saw — past of 'see'
  23. bound — certain
  24. spring — of water

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