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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. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. You don't need to ________________ round.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. The King held a masked ________________.
  9. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  10. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  11. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  16. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  20. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  21. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  22. We're almost out of ________________.
  23. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — of a tree
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. pop — to visit
  4. bark — to shout
  5. bat — the animal
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. ball — a dance
  9. leaves — to go away
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. ball — a round shape
  12. wax — to grow
  13. lie — to recline
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. ball — a great time
  16. pop — music
  17. rash — hasty
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. rash — a series
  21. leaves — lets stay
  22. pop — soda
  23. rash — on the skin
  24. bat — in an idiom

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