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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. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  2. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  8. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  9. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  13. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  14. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  15. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  16. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  23. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  24. I'd like to play a game of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. squash — to crush
  3. wake — a trail
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. bark — to shout
  6. hand — in cards
  7. row — to paddle
  8. rest — what's left
  9. rest — a break
  10. row — a line
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. board — a committee
  13. wake — to stop sleeping
  14. wax — for sculpting
  15. wake — before a funeral
  16. board — a flat piece
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. board — to get on
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. hand — help
  22. rest — what's left
  23. wax — to grow
  24. squash — the sport

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