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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. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  13. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. The King held a masked ________________.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. fall — to drop
  4. track — a path
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. fall — to drop
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. wax — to grow
  10. track — to keep track
  11. court — of law
  12. ball — a round shape
  13. ball — a great time
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. ball — a dance
  16. court — of a king
  17. snap — to click
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. track — a song
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. bark — to shout
  22. fall — the season
  23. court — for sport
  24. 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