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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. This piece is in a major ________________.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  14. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  15. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  19. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  23. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  24. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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

Answer key

  1. key — in music
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. bat — the animal
  5. pass — to spend time
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. shower — to wash
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. pass — a permit
  10. capital — a city
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. key — for a lock
  14. club — for golf
  15. club — for dancing
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. capital — money
  18. wax — to grow
  19. club — a group
  20. shower — rain
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. key — the most important part
  23. pass — to succeed
  24. bark — to shout

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