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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 newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  10. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. That must've been a ________________.
  13. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — the bottom
  2. wax — to grow
  3. file — a tool
  4. lean — to rest against
  5. file — a line of people
  6. file — a document
  7. wound — an injury
  8. band — a music group
  9. rush — hurry
  10. rush — to hurry
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. rush — a thrill
  13. foot — a measure
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. lean — to bend
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. foot — part of the body
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. lean — thin
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. bark — to shout
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. wound — an injury
  24. band — a ring

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