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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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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: mug · cold · wax · prune · pound · bore · pop · bowl

  1. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  2. We're almost out of ________________.
  3. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  6. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  9. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  12. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  13. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  14. Where did you ________________ them?
  15. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  21. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  22. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  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. mug — a face
  2. pop — soda
  3. pound — for dogs
  4. pop — to visit
  5. bowl — a football final
  6. bowl — to roll
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. mug — a cup
  9. bore — to drill
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. bore — gave birth
  12. bore — to tire
  13. pop — music
  14. mug — to rob
  15. pound — to hit hard
  16. cold — not warm
  17. bowl — a dish
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. prune — to trim
  20. wax — to grow
  21. prune — to trim
  22. wax — in the ear
  23. cold — an illness
  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