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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 120 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. David sat on the ________________.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. My father caught me by the ________________.
  11. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  16. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  17. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. hand — in cards
  5. court — of law
  6. lie — to recline
  7. swing — in golf
  8. swing — music
  9. hand — help
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. wax — to grow
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. wake — a trail
  17. arm — a part of something
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. court — for sport
  20. wake — to stop sleeping
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. court — of a king
  23. bark — to shout
  24. lie — an untruth

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