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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. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  5. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  6. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  7. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  20. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  21. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  22. That must've been a ________________.
  23. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  24. What do you think of the new ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. pound — for dogs
  5. dip — to dunk
  6. rush — hurry
  7. rush — to hurry
  8. file — a line of people
  9. file — a document
  10. cabinet — a cupboard
  11. file — a tool
  12. pound — a weight
  13. kid — to tease
  14. spell — magic
  15. spell — a short time
  16. dip — a sauce
  17. kid — child
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. pound — to hit hard
  20. wax — to grow
  21. dip — to sink
  22. rush — a thrill
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. cabinet — ministers

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