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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. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  2. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  19. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  20. The King held a masked ________________.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. The ________________ took off on time.
  24. He had ________________ pain while walking.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. ball — a round shape
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. file — a document
  7. plane — in geometry
  8. file — a tool
  9. fan — to cool the air
  10. wind — moving air
  11. wind — moving air
  12. bark — to shout
  13. ball — a great time
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. file — a line of people
  18. plane — a tool
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. ball — a dance
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. plane — an aircraft
  24. calf — of the leg

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