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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. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. That must've been a ________________.
  8. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. Have you found your soul ________________?
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  18. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  19. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  20. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — to breed
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. cold — an illness
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. rush — a thrill
  8. fine — all right
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. fine — a penalty
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. mate — a partner
  13. wax — to grow
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. mine — for digging
  17. mate — a friend
  18. rush — to hurry
  19. rush — hurry
  20. wax — for sculpting
  21. cold — not warm
  22. wax — in the ear
  23. bark — to shout
  24. fine — high quality

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