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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: rock · cold · hide · date · wax · stand · rash · pound

  1. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  4. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  11. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  12. Have you settled on a ________________?
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  16. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  17. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  18. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  19. I can't ________________ this cold.
  20. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  21. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  24. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. cold — an illness
  3. pound — for dogs
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. rash — hasty
  6. stand — for spectators
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. stand — on your feet
  9. rash — a series
  10. rock — a stone
  11. rash — on the skin
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. wax — to grow
  15. pound — a weight
  16. hide — animal skin
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. rock — music
  19. stand — to bear
  20. pound — to hit hard
  21. date — the fruit
  22. cold — not warm
  23. rock — to move gently
  24. wax — for sculpting

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