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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 moon will ________________ and wane.
  2. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. We're almost out of ________________.
  12. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  15. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. Have you met the new head ________________?
  24. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. pound — to hit hard
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. chest — a box
  5. season — in sport
  6. pop — to visit
  7. season — of the year
  8. chest — of your body
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. sharp — clever
  11. pop — soda
  12. pound — for dogs
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. pop — music
  16. ground — the earth
  17. ground — a position
  18. chest — of your body
  19. pound — a weight
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. ground — crushed
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. coach — pulled by horses

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