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

Word bank: bay · fork · pound · ground · wake · bear · tube · wax

  1. There's no middle ________________.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  4. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  10. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  11. I'll be taking the ________________.
  12. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  13. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  14. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  15. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  16. My mare is ________________ in color.
  17. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  18. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  19. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  22. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  23. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  24. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. ground — crushed
  3. pound — for dogs
  4. fork — in a road
  5. wax — to grow
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. wake — to stop sleeping
  8. ground — the earth
  9. fork — to eat with
  10. bear — to put up with
  11. tube — the underground
  12. bay — to keep at bay
  13. tube — in a tire
  14. fork — a garden tool
  15. tube — a container
  16. bay — a horse colour
  17. pound — to hit hard
  18. pound — a weight
  19. bay — a part of the sea
  20. wake — a trail
  21. bear — the animal
  22. wake — before a funeral
  23. bear — the animal
  24. wax — in the ear

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