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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. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  9. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  10. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  11. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — for dogs
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. object — to protest
  4. hand — help
  5. deal — an agreement
  6. hand — in cards
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. deal — a big deal
  9. pound — a weight
  10. object — an aim
  11. deal — to handle
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. drill — army training
  14. wax — for sculpting
  15. drill — the tool
  16. season — in sport
  17. pound — to hit hard
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. content — the amount
  20. object — a thing
  21. content — happy
  22. season — of the year
  23. drill — a practice
  24. wax — to grow

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