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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. There's no middle ________________.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. How do you ________________ your surname?
  14. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. rock — to move gently
  5. ground — crushed
  6. ground — the earth
  7. race — a contest
  8. wax — to grow
  9. spell — a short time
  10. bark — to shout
  11. rock — music
  12. net — in sport
  13. spell — letters
  14. wax — for sculpting
  15. net — after costs
  16. rest — what's left
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. net — for catching
  19. rock — a stone
  20. race — the arms race
  21. spell — magic
  22. rest — a break
  23. race — humankind
  24. rest — what's left

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