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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. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  9. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  10. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  11. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  12. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  13. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  14. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  17. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  24. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — of the sea
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. hand — in cards
  4. kid — to tease
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. wave — with your hand
  7. fall — to drop
  8. wave — a sudden rise
  9. lean — thin
  10. pound — a weight
  11. firm — a company
  12. firm — decided
  13. pound — to hit hard
  14. fall — to drop
  15. hand — help
  16. pound — for dogs
  17. firm — steady
  18. kid — child
  19. lean — to bend
  20. fall — the season
  21. lean — to rest against
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. wax — to grow
  24. wax — for sculpting

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