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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. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  3. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. swing — in golf
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. bark — to shout
  5. band — a ring
  6. kid — to tease
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. kid — child
  9. toast — bread
  10. band — a music group
  11. toast — a drink to someone
  12. wax — to grow
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. toast — the most admired
  16. swing — music
  17. perch — the fish
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. swing — to play on
  22. wax — in the ear
  23. wind — moving air
  24. wind — moving air

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