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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. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  4. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. The King held a masked ________________.
  9. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  10. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. Where did you ________________ them?
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  19. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. game — wild animals
  3. mug — a face
  4. pit — a hole
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. ball — a great time
  7. wax — to grow
  8. ball — a dance
  9. mug — a cup
  10. ball — a round shape
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. mug — to rob
  15. tear — to rip
  16. pit — in a race
  17. tear — from crying
  18. pound — to hit hard
  19. pound — for dogs
  20. game — a match
  21. pit — a fruit stone
  22. bark — to shout
  23. pound — a weight
  24. tear — from crying

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