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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. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  11. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  12. You don't need to ________________ round.
  13. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  16. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  24. We're almost out of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. hand — help
  3. cold — an illness
  4. stick — to attach or keep to
  5. hand — in cards
  6. pound — a weight
  7. kid — to tease
  8. pop — music
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. fork — in a road
  11. fork — a garden tool
  12. pop — to visit
  13. fork — to eat with
  14. kid — child
  15. pound — for dogs
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. wax — to grow
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. pound — to hit hard
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. cold — not warm
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. pop — soda

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