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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 museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  4. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  23. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — for dogs
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. deal — to handle
  5. land — to come down
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. spring — a coil
  8. deal — an agreement
  9. spring — of water
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. calf — of the leg
  12. wound — an injury
  13. land — ground
  14. pound — a weight
  15. band — a ring
  16. deal — a big deal
  17. spring — the season
  18. land — a country
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. wound — an injury
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. wax — to grow
  24. band — a music group

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