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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. When are we going to ________________?
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  16. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  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. land — to come down
  2. land — ground
  3. wound — an injury
  4. band — a music group
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. current — of water
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. land — a country
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. current — electric
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. current — happening now
  16. rest — a break
  17. bark — to shout
  18. wax — to grow
  19. kid — to tease
  20. rest — what's left
  21. kid — child
  22. wound — an injury
  23. rest — what's left
  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