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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. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  2. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  17. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  24. Add some ________________ pepper to it.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — a grade
  2. ground — the earth
  3. wax — to grow
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. mark — a trace
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. clip — for paper
  11. ground — a position
  12. lash — to lash out
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. lash — a whip stroke
  15. bark — to shout
  16. mark — to pay attention
  17. lash — an eyelash
  18. clip — a video
  19. sharp — clever
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. content — the amount
  22. clip — to cut
  23. content — happy
  24. ground — crushed

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