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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 museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  3. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  4. We're on a ________________ here.
  5. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  8. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  13. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  16. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  17. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  18. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  19. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  20. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  24. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. pound — for dogs
  3. mark — a grade
  4. roll — on a roll
  5. pound — a weight
  6. wax — to grow
  7. fine — all right
  8. fine — a penalty
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. wax — in the ear
  11. cold — not warm
  12. fine — high quality
  13. mark — to pay attention
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. jam — in traffic
  16. jam — to spread on bread
  17. jam — a tight spot
  18. roll — a cake
  19. mark — a trace
  20. stem — to come from
  21. cold — an illness
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. pound — to hit hard
  24. roll — a list

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