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

  1. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  10. Did you ________________ the meat?
  11. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  12. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  18. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  21. That was ________________ to happen.
  22. The King held a masked ________________.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. The old man leaned on his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. prune — to trim
  4. season — in sport
  5. prune — to trim
  6. wax — to grow
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. race — humankind
  9. staff — employees
  10. season — to add flavour
  11. staff — employees
  12. bound — tied together
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. race — a contest
  15. bark — to shout
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. wax — for sculpting
  18. bound — obliged
  19. season — of the year
  20. ball — a round shape
  21. bound — certain
  22. ball — a dance
  23. race — the arms race
  24. staff — a stick

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