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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  7. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  8. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  9. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  12. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. He keeps ________________ of his days.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. pound — to hit hard
  3. hand — in cards
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. march — the month
  6. calf — of the leg
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. track — a path
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. pound — a weight
  12. track — a song
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. wake — a trail
  15. pound — for dogs
  16. march — the month
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. tear — from crying
  19. tear — to rip
  20. tear — from crying
  21. march — music
  22. wax — to grow
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. track — to keep track

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