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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 didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  13. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. The tickets are free of ________________.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. mark — to pay attention
  4. wax — to grow
  5. deal — a big deal
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. mark — a trace
  8. bark — to shout
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. mark — a grade
  13. charge — electricity
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. charge — in control
  16. kid — to tease
  17. deal — to handle
  18. wind — moving air
  19. wind — moving air
  20. wake — a trail
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. charge — a price
  23. kid — child
  24. deal — an agreement

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