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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 120 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. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  2. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  8. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  9. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  16. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  17. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  18. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  21. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. board — a committee
  4. wax — to grow
  5. shower — rain
  6. shower — to wash
  7. board — a flat piece
  8. fan — to cool the air
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. bark — to shout
  13. pound — for dogs
  14. cell — in biology
  15. pound — a weight
  16. rule — a law
  17. wax — for sculpting
  18. rule — to rule out
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. board — to get on
  21. rule — government
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. cell — a phone
  24. pound — to hit hard

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