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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. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. I'll be taking the ________________.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  17. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  20. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. club — a group
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. net — for catching
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. prune — to trim
  8. net — after costs
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. prune — to trim
  11. tube — the underground
  12. file — a document
  13. rule — government
  14. wax — to grow
  15. file — a line of people
  16. rule — a law
  17. club — for dancing
  18. file — a tool
  19. rule — to rule out
  20. tube — a container
  21. bark — to shout
  22. club — for golf
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. wax — in the ear

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