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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. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  6. We're almost out of ________________.
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. That was ________________ to happen.
  15. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  18. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  23. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  24. You don't need to ________________ round.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. bound — obliged
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. track — a path
  6. pop — soda
  7. wax — to grow
  8. toast — the most admired
  9. bark — to shout
  10. degree — temperature
  11. track — to keep track
  12. row — to paddle
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. bound — certain
  15. toast — a drink to someone
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. toast — bread
  18. bound — tied together
  19. degree — from a university
  20. row — a line
  21. degree — an amount
  22. pop — music
  23. track — a song
  24. pop — to visit

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