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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 120 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. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  5. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  6. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. We're almost out of ________________.
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  17. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  18. I'll be taking the ________________.
  19. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  20. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  21. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  22. You don't need to ________________ round.
  23. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  24. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — music
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. cold — an illness
  4. bear — the animal
  5. tube — in a tire
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. cold — not warm
  9. lie — to recline
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. pop — soda
  13. wax — to grow
  14. row — to paddle
  15. row — a line
  16. bear — to put up with
  17. pound — for dogs
  18. tube — the underground
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. pound — to hit hard
  21. pound — a weight
  22. pop — to visit
  23. tube — a container
  24. bear — the animal

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