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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. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  10. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  15. Have you settled on a ________________?
  16. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. bark — to shout
  3. squash — the vegetable
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. date — the fruit
  6. mine — for digging
  7. net — after costs
  8. squash — to crush
  9. bear — the animal
  10. wax — for sculpting
  11. wax — to grow
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. row — to paddle
  14. bear — the animal
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. row — a line
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. squash — the sport
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. bear — to put up with
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. net — in sport
  24. net — for catching

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