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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. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  2. We're almost out of ________________.
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  14. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  15. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  20. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  21. What do you think of the new ________________?
  22. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  23. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  24. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. content — videos and posts
  2. pop — soda
  3. club — for dancing
  4. wax — to grow
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. pound — for dogs
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. pop — music
  9. content — happy
  10. pound — a weight
  11. pop — to visit
  12. cold — not warm
  13. rest — what's left
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. rest — a break
  16. cold — an illness
  17. pound — to hit hard
  18. content — the amount
  19. club — for golf
  20. cabinet — a cupboard
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. rest — what's left
  23. club — a group
  24. wax — in the ear

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