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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. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  2. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. She's very handy with a ________________.
  5. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  6. Where did you ________________ them?
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  16. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  19. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  20. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  23. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — a face
  2. fine — all right
  3. wax — to grow
  4. saw — the tool
  5. pound — for dogs
  6. mug — to rob
  7. kid — to tease
  8. race — the arms race
  9. fall — to drop
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. saw — past of 'see'
  13. race — a contest
  14. saw — the tool
  15. mug — a cup
  16. fine — a penalty
  17. race — humankind
  18. wax — in the ear
  19. fall — to drop
  20. fine — high quality
  21. kid — child
  22. pound — to hit hard
  23. pound — a weight
  24. fall — the season

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