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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. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  23. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  24. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. last — finally
  3. kid — to tease
  4. board — a committee
  5. last — to go on
  6. last — final
  7. club — for dancing
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. cell — in biology
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. club — a group
  14. wax — to grow
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. board — a flat piece
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. kid — child
  22. board — to get on
  23. club — for golf
  24. bark — to shout

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