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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 museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  12. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. This piece is in a major ________________.
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  19. How do you ________________ your surname?
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  23. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. wound — an injury
  4. mark — a grade
  5. sharp — clever
  6. spell — a short time
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. key — the most important part
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. spell — magic
  12. key — for a lock
  13. chest — a box
  14. wound — an injury
  15. bark — to shout
  16. chest — of your body
  17. key — in music
  18. wax — to grow
  19. spell — letters
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. mark — a trace
  23. mark — to pay attention
  24. chest — of your body

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