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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. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  2. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  9. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  16. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  21. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  24. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!

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

Answer key

  1. staff — a stick
  2. bear — the animal
  3. cold — not warm
  4. staff — employees
  5. shower — to wash
  6. mark — a grade
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. pound — a weight
  9. pound — for dogs
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. spell — letters
  12. wax — to grow
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. shower — rain
  15. staff — employees
  16. mark — to pay attention
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. spell — magic
  19. spell — a short time
  20. bear — the animal
  21. pound — to hit hard
  22. cold — an illness
  23. mark — a trace
  24. bear — to put up with

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