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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. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  6. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. Have you found your soul ________________?
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  13. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  14. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  15. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  16. The ________________ went through the wall.
  17. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  22. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  23. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  24. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. pound — to hit hard
  4. face — to confront
  5. face — part of the head
  6. pound — for dogs
  7. bark — to shout
  8. mate — a partner
  9. field — farmland
  10. pound — a weight
  11. wax — to grow
  12. face — to point toward
  13. nail — on a finger
  14. wax — for sculpting
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. field — for sport
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. field — a subject
  21. mate — to breed
  22. mate — a friend
  23. ruler — a monarch
  24. ruler — for measuring

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