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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. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  7. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  21. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  22. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  23. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  24. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — the animal
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. dip — a sauce
  4. swing — to play on
  5. row — a line
  6. dip — to sink
  7. swing — music
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. bat — the animal
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. wax — to grow
  13. dip — to dunk
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. bark — to shout
  16. swing — in golf
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. row — to paddle
  20. mouse — for a computer
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. wax — in the ear
  23. patient — calm and waiting
  24. patient — a sick person

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