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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. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  5. Have you settled on a ________________?
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  14. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  15. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  22. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  23. That was ________________ to happen.
  24. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. pound — for dogs
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. pound — a weight
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. file — a tool
  7. bound — tied together
  8. wound — an injury
  9. rest — a break
  10. wound — an injury
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. wax — to grow
  13. rest — what's left
  14. date — the fruit
  15. rest — what's left
  16. file — a line of people
  17. file — a document
  18. bound — obliged
  19. wake — a trail
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. pound — to hit hard
  22. wax — in the ear
  23. bound — certain
  24. date — on the calendar

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