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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. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  2. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  9. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  10. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  20. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?

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

Answer key

  1. pound — a weight
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. band — a music group
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. stem — a stem cell
  6. wax — to grow
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. hide — animal skin
  9. fan — to cool the air
  10. chip — for betting
  11. capital — money
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. capital — a city
  14. pound — to hit hard
  15. stem — to come from
  16. chip — in a computer
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. band — a ring
  19. pound — for dogs
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. chip — to eat
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. hide — to keep secret

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