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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. I can't ________________ this cold.
  2. What do you think of the new ________________?
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  12. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  13. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  14. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  19. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  20. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — to bear
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. wax — to grow
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. pound — for dogs
  6. mine — for digging
  7. deal — an agreement
  8. cold — not warm
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. wound — an injury
  11. pound — a weight
  12. stand — for spectators
  13. pound — to hit hard
  14. stand — on your feet
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. cold — an illness
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. deal — a big deal
  20. cabinet — a cupboard
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. deal — to handle
  24. wound — an injury

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