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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. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  2. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  7. That was ________________ to happen.
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  10. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. We're on a ________________ here.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  20. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  23. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. bound — obliged
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. wind — moving air
  5. last — final
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. bound — certain
  8. fall — to drop
  9. racket — a loud noise
  10. wax — for sculpting
  11. fall — the season
  12. roll — on a roll
  13. last — finally
  14. wind — moving air
  15. last — to go on
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. bark — to shout
  19. roll — a cake
  20. fall — to drop
  21. wax — to grow
  22. roll — a list
  23. bound — tied together
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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