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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. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  5. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  8. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  9. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  10. Did you ________________ the meat?
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  18. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. present — there
  2. chip — to eat
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. chip — for betting
  5. present — the time now
  6. bark — to shout
  7. drill — the tool
  8. lean — to bend
  9. season — in sport
  10. season — to add flavour
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. lean — to rest against
  15. drill — a practice
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. wax — to grow
  18. lean — thin
  19. season — of the year
  20. drill — army training
  21. present — a gift
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. chip — in a computer
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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