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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 sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  8. The ________________ took off on time.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  17. When will it ________________ you to start?
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  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. bark — to shout
  2. tear — to rip
  3. mate — a partner
  4. mate — a friend
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. plane — in geometry
  8. plane — an aircraft
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. wax — to grow
  11. spring — a coil
  12. plane — a tool
  13. field — a subject
  14. spring — of water
  15. field — for sport
  16. mate — to breed
  17. suit — to fit
  18. tear — from crying
  19. spring — the season
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. suit — clothes
  22. field — farmland
  23. suit — in cards
  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