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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. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. That was ________________ to happen.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  7. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  8. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  9. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  10. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  11. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  12. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  13. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  16. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  17. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  18. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  19. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  20. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. When was this ________________ built?
  23. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. bound — certain
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. bound — obliged
  7. staff — employees
  8. can — a tin
  9. bound — tied together
  10. pit — in a race
  11. pass — a permit
  12. pit — a fruit stone
  13. pass — to succeed
  14. wax — to grow
  15. temple — side of the head
  16. pass — to spend time
  17. staff — a stick
  18. staff — employees
  19. can — a tin
  20. pit — a hole
  21. bark — to shout
  22. temple — a place of worship
  23. can — to be able to
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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