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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 120 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. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  7. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  8. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  9. What do you think of the new ________________?
  10. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  14. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  19. David sat on the ________________.
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. bark — to shout
  5. swing — music
  6. cabinet — a cupboard
  7. fine — a penalty
  8. fine — all right
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. bass — the instrument
  11. row — to paddle
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. fine — high quality
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. bass — the fish
  17. squash — the sport
  18. wax — to grow
  19. swing — to play on
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. bass — low music
  22. row — a line
  23. swing — in golf
  24. squash — to crush

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