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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: pound · wind · rule · fine · object · pop · wax · rest

  1. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. We're almost out of ________________.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  5. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  9. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  10. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  13. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  14. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  15. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  16. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  17. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  18. You don't need to ________________ round.
  19. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  20. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  21. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  24. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. pop — soda
  3. wax — to grow
  4. fine — a penalty
  5. fine — high quality
  6. wind — moving air
  7. pop — music
  8. rule — government
  9. object — to protest
  10. wax — in the ear
  11. wind — moving air
  12. object — an aim
  13. fine — all right
  14. rule — a law
  15. rest — a break
  16. rest — what's left
  17. pound — to hit hard
  18. pop — to visit
  19. object — a thing
  20. rule — to rule out
  21. rest — what's left
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. pound — for dogs
  24. pound — a weight

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