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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. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. The King held a masked ________________.
  8. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. Have you found your soul ________________?
  13. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  14. That was ________________ to happen.
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  24. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. hand — help
  3. bound — tied together
  4. wax — to grow
  5. bound — obliged
  6. bark — to shout
  7. ball — a dance
  8. board — a committee
  9. hand — in cards
  10. board — a flat piece
  11. mate — a friend
  12. mate — a partner
  13. board — to get on
  14. bound — certain
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. ball — a great time
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. mate — to breed
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. ball — a round shape
  23. fall — the season
  24. fall — to drop

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