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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 water is too ________________.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. I can't ________________ this cold.
  8. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. We're almost out of ________________.
  16. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  19. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  20. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. pop — to visit
  5. mouse — for a computer
  6. wax — to grow
  7. stand — to bear
  8. stand — for spectators
  9. pop — music
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. drill — the tool
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. pop — soda
  16. pass — a permit
  17. bark — to shout
  18. stand — on your feet
  19. pass — to spend time
  20. mouse — the animal
  21. drill — army training
  22. pass — to succeed
  23. drill — a practice
  24. cold — an illness

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