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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. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  7. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  8. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. We're on a ________________ here.
  12. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. racket — a loud noise
  3. ground — a position
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. game — a match
  6. roll — a list
  7. present — there
  8. roll — a cake
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. bark — to shout
  11. roll — on a roll
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. ground — crushed
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. present — a gift
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. ground — the earth
  20. present — the time now
  21. wax — to grow
  22. wax — for sculpting
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. game — wild animals

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