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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 ________________ change colour in autumn.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  18. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  19. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  20. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  24. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — of a tree
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. bark — to shout
  5. stem — to come from
  6. capital — a city
  7. band — a ring
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. capital — money
  11. stem — a stem cell
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. leaves — lets stay
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. bear — the animal
  18. bear — the animal
  19. bear — to put up with
  20. wax — for sculpting
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. band — a music group
  23. leaves — to go away
  24. wax — to grow

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