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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. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  14. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  15. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  16. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  17. The ________________ went through the wall.
  18. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  19. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. last — final
  4. band — a music group
  5. chest — of your body
  6. pound — for dogs
  7. last — finally
  8. band — a ring
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. file — a document
  11. bear — to put up with
  12. last — to go on
  13. bear — the animal
  14. bear — the animal
  15. pound — to hit hard
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. pound — a weight
  19. wax — in the ear
  20. chest — a box
  21. file — a tool
  22. chest — of your body
  23. nail — on a finger
  24. file — a line of people

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