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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. We're almost out of ________________.
  2. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  3. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  12. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  23. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — soda
  2. kick — in football
  3. craft — a skill
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. pop — to visit
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. staff — employees
  9. pop — music
  10. hand — in cards
  11. staff — a stick
  12. staff — employees
  13. wax — to grow
  14. bark — to shout
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. craft — a handicraft
  17. hand — help
  18. kick — with a leg
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. cold — not warm
  21. cold — an illness
  22. wax — for sculpting
  23. craft — boats
  24. cold — the Cold War

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