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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 have nothing to ________________ here.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  11. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. bark — to shout
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. wax — to grow
  8. capital — a city
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. game — wild animals
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. wound — an injury
  16. wound — an injury
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. perch — the fish
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. game — a match
  22. hide — animal skin
  23. capital — money
  24. perch — for a bird

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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