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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: ground · wax · bay · rest · spring · land · pound · object

  1. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  11. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  12. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  13. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  14. My mare is ________________ in color.
  15. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  18. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  24. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.

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

Answer key

  1. object — to protest
  2. spring — a coil
  3. pound — to hit hard
  4. wax — to grow
  5. ground — crushed
  6. ground — a position
  7. land — to come down
  8. spring — the season
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. object — an aim
  11. bay — a part of the sea
  12. pound — a weight
  13. rest — what's left
  14. bay — a horse colour
  15. bay — to keep at bay
  16. land — a country
  17. rest — a break
  18. pound — for dogs
  19. land — ground
  20. object — a thing
  21. ground — the earth
  22. spring — of water
  23. wax — for sculpting
  24. rest — what's left

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