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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. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  8. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  9. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  10. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  13. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  14. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  15. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. rash — hasty
  4. bear — the animal
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. row — a line
  7. rash — a series
  8. bear — the animal
  9. craft — a handicraft
  10. craft — a skill
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. bear — to put up with
  13. craft — boats
  14. firm — steady
  15. firm — decided
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. band — a music group
  20. firm — a company
  21. row — to paddle
  22. wax — to grow
  23. bark — to shout
  24. band — a ring

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