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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. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  2. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  13. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  14. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  15. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  18. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  23. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  24. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. present — a gift
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. band — a music group
  6. degree — an amount
  7. kid — to tease
  8. band — a ring
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. object — an aim
  11. degree — temperature
  12. pass — to spend time
  13. object — a thing
  14. object — to protest
  15. present — there
  16. kid — child
  17. pound — a weight
  18. pass — to succeed
  19. degree — from a university
  20. present — the time now
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. pound — for dogs
  23. pass — a permit
  24. pound — to hit hard

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