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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. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  8. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  16. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  17. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  18. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  19. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  20. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  21. That was ________________ to happen.
  22. David sat on the ________________.
  23. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  24. We're on a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — for dogs
  2. wax — to grow
  3. pound — to hit hard
  4. bark — to shout
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. bound — tied together
  8. bound — obliged
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. swing — in golf
  11. swing — music
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. bat — the animal
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. fan — to cool the air
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. roll — a list
  18. pound — a weight
  19. roll — a cake
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. bound — certain
  22. swing — to play on
  23. wax — for sculpting
  24. roll — on a roll

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