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

  1. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. mark — a trace
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. net — in sport
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. mine — for digging
  8. mark — to pay attention
  9. bark — to shout
  10. mark — a grade
  11. net — after costs
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. net — for catching
  15. cell — in biology
  16. wax — to grow
  17. wax — for sculpting
  18. bark — of a tree

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