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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. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  4. She's very handy with a ________________.
  5. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  6. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  7. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  10. He works in a ________________ mill.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. That was ________________ to happen.
  16. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  17. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  22. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. wax — to grow
  3. bound — obliged
  4. saw — the tool
  5. bear — the animal
  6. saw — past of 'see'
  7. bear — the animal
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. racket — a loud noise
  10. saw — the tool
  11. bark — to shout
  12. bear — to put up with
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. bound — certain
  16. bound — tied together
  17. wake — before a funeral
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. wake — a trail

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