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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. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. This piece is in a major ________________.
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  20. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  21. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  22. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. key — in music
  4. wax — to grow
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. spring — the season
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. net — in sport
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. bark — to shout
  11. spring — of water
  12. key — the most important part
  13. spring — a coil
  14. game — a match
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. net — after costs
  17. scale — in music
  18. game — wild animals
  19. scale — size or range
  20. cap — a lid
  21. cap — a hat
  22. cap — of ice
  23. net — for catching
  24. key — for a lock

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