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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. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  2. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  6. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  19. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  20. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. wax — to grow
  5. pound — to hit hard
  6. stick — to attach or keep to
  7. cell — a phone
  8. swing — to play on
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. swing — music
  12. land — a country
  13. wake — a trail
  14. calf — of the leg
  15. swing — in golf
  16. cell — in biology
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. pound — for dogs
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. pound — a weight
  21. land — to come down
  22. land — ground
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. calf — a young animal

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