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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  3. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  4. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  13. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. That was ________________ to happen.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  18. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. vault — an arched ceiling
  3. bound — obliged
  4. pound — a weight
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. wax — to grow
  7. pound — for dogs
  8. cell — a phone
  9. pound — to hit hard
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. vault — a safe
  13. bound — tied together
  14. cell — in biology
  15. bound — certain
  16. hand — in cards
  17. vault — in gymnastics
  18. wax — in the ear
  19. prune — to trim
  20. squash — the sport
  21. squash — to crush
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. prune — to trim
  24. cell — in a prison

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