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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. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  6. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. My mare is ________________ in color.
  9. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  10. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. I can't ________________ this cold.
  15. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  16. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  17. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. wax — to grow
  3. bark — to shout
  4. content — happy
  5. pass — a permit
  6. stand — for spectators
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. bay — a horse colour
  9. bay — a part of the sea
  10. bay — to keep at bay
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. stand — to bear
  15. bear — to put up with
  16. bear — the animal
  17. stand — on your feet
  18. game — a match
  19. bear — the animal
  20. content — the amount
  21. pass — to succeed
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. pass — to spend time
  24. game — wild animals

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