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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. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  5. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  12. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. Don't do anything ________________.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  22. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. wax — to grow
  3. mate — to breed
  4. pound — a weight
  5. pound — for dogs
  6. wind — moving air
  7. wind — moving air
  8. mate — a friend
  9. rash — a series
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. pound — to hit hard
  12. can — a tin
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. prune — to trim
  16. rash — hasty
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. prune — to trim
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. bark — to shout
  21. can — a tin
  22. can — to be able to
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. wax — for sculpting

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