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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. Have you met the new head ________________?
  2. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  23. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  24. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. fall — the season
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. kick — in football
  6. spring — a coil
  7. bark — to shout
  8. net — in sport
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. net — after costs
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. fall — to drop
  13. wind — moving air
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. wind — moving air
  16. kick — a thrill
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. spring — the season
  19. wax — to grow
  20. spring — of water
  21. net — for catching
  22. kick — with a leg
  23. fall — to drop
  24. coach — pulled by horses

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