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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. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  7. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  8. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  15. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  16. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  21. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  22. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  23. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  24. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. lean — to bend
  4. wax — to grow
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. lean — thin
  7. mark — to pay attention
  8. present — there
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. object — a thing
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. degree — an amount
  13. degree — temperature
  14. present — a gift
  15. object — an aim
  16. mark — a trace
  17. degree — from a university
  18. object — to protest
  19. bark — to shout
  20. mark — a grade
  21. present — the time now
  22. lean — to rest against
  23. chair — a professorship
  24. chair — a leader

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