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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. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. This piece is in a major ________________.
  5. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  6. Don't do anything ________________.
  7. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  13. We're almost out of ________________.
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  17. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  20. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  21. You don't need to ________________ round.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. key — for a lock
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. game — wild animals
  4. key — in music
  5. bear — the animal
  6. rash — hasty
  7. bear — to put up with
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. bark — to shout
  10. game — a match
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. key — the most important part
  13. pop — soda
  14. cap — a lid
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. cap — a hat
  17. pop — music
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. wax — to grow
  20. bear — the animal
  21. pop — to visit
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. cap — of ice
  24. rash — a series

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