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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 116 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 would like to have a ________________ here.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  5. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  8. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  9. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — a break
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. root — of a word
  5. chip — for betting
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. chip — to eat
  8. wax — to grow
  9. rest — what's left
  10. bark — to shout
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. face — part of the head
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. face — to confront
  16. chip — in a computer
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. row — to paddle
  19. face — to point toward
  20. rest — what's left
  21. row — a line
  22. root — of a plant
  23. wake — a trail
  24. root — the cause

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