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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 band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  4. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  8. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  17. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  24. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — for dogs
  2. march — music
  3. rule — to rule out
  4. pound — a weight
  5. march — the month
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. rule — a law
  8. chip — for betting
  9. wax — to grow
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. fall — the season
  12. cold — not warm
  13. march — the month
  14. chip — to eat
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. pound — to hit hard
  17. rule — government
  18. fall — to drop
  19. row — a line
  20. chip — in a computer
  21. cold — an illness
  22. row — to paddle
  23. fall — to drop
  24. wax — for sculpting

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