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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. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  2. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. Where did you ________________ them?
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — for dogs
  2. net — for catching
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. march — the month
  6. pound — to hit hard
  7. wax — to grow
  8. pound — a weight
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. last — to go on
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. march — music
  15. net — in sport
  16. net — after costs
  17. mug — a cup
  18. last — final
  19. mug — to rob
  20. march — the month
  21. bat — the animal
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. last — finally
  24. mug — a face

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