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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. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  10. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  11. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  16. You don't need to ________________ round.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. We're almost out of ________________.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. pound — for dogs
  5. bark — to shout
  6. pound — to hit hard
  7. pop — music
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. kick — a thrill
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. pound — a weight
  12. land — a country
  13. wax — to grow
  14. land — ground
  15. fan — to cool the air
  16. pop — to visit
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. land — to come down
  19. kick — with a leg
  20. last — finally
  21. last — to go on
  22. pop — soda
  23. last — final
  24. kick — in football

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