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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. That must've been a ________________.
  2. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  3. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  6. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  19. That was ________________ to happen.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  22. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — a thrill
  2. rush — to hurry
  3. fall — the season
  4. wax — to grow
  5. pound — to hit hard
  6. rush — hurry
  7. fall — to drop
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. land — to come down
  11. wake — a trail
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. pound — a weight
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. degree — an amount
  16. land — ground
  17. degree — from a university
  18. fall — to drop
  19. bound — certain
  20. land — a country
  21. bound — obliged
  22. pound — for dogs
  23. degree — temperature
  24. bound — tied together

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