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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: band · pound · bank · row · lean · pit · wax · ground

  1. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  10. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  15. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  16. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  17. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  22. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  23. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  24. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. pit — a fruit stone
  3. ground — crushed
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. wax — to grow
  6. band — a ring
  7. pound — a weight
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. bank — for money
  10. pound — for dogs
  11. row — to paddle
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. ground — the earth
  14. pound — to hit hard
  15. lean — thin
  16. pit — a hole
  17. lean — to bend
  18. row — a line
  19. wax — in the ear
  20. ground — a position
  21. bank — for money
  22. lean — to rest against
  23. bank — of a river
  24. pit — in a race

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