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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. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  2. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  16. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  17. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  18. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  24. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a signal
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. field — farmland
  4. face — to confront
  5. bark — to shout
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. lean — to rest against
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. lean — thin
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. wax — to grow
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. calf — of the leg
  16. cue — a hint
  17. lean — to bend
  18. face — part of the head
  19. field — a subject
  20. wake — a trail
  21. face — to point toward
  22. field — for sport
  23. cue — for pool
  24. wake — to stop sleeping

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