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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 116 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. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  8. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  9. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  12. She's very handy with a ________________.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  17. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  18. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  19. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  20. He works in a ________________ mill.
  21. I'll be taking the ________________.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  24. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — a weight
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. shower — to wash
  4. vault — a safe
  5. kid — child
  6. kid — to tease
  7. bear — the animal
  8. wax — to grow
  9. saw — past of 'see'
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. pound — to hit hard
  12. saw — the tool
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. bear — the animal
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. vault — an arched ceiling
  17. tube — in a tire
  18. vault — in gymnastics
  19. bear — to put up with
  20. saw — the tool
  21. tube — the underground
  22. shower — rain
  23. pound — for dogs
  24. tube — a container

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