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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. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  10. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. bore — to tire
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. bowl — to roll
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. bore — gave birth
  7. bat — the animal
  8. shower — to wash
  9. bowl — a football final
  10. bore — to drill
  11. shower — rain
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. bowl — a dish
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. bark — to shout
  16. wax — to grow
  17. wax — for sculpting
  18. bat — for baseball

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