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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 120 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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  14. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  15. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  20. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  21. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. wax — to grow
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. wake — a trail
  8. shower — to wash
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. leaves — lets stay
  11. row — to paddle
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. lean — thin
  14. leaves — of a tree
  15. lean — to bend
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. row — a line
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. lean — to rest against
  20. leaves — to go away
  21. wake — to stop sleeping
  22. kid — child
  23. bark — to shout
  24. shower — rain

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