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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. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. It's one o'clock ________________.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  19. Where did you ________________ them?
  20. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  21. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. sharp — exactly
  5. sharp — clever
  6. bark — to shout
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. bass — the fish
  9. wax — to grow
  10. mate — a friend
  11. prune — to trim
  12. bass — low music
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. mug — a cup
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. mate — to breed
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. wax — in the ear
  19. mug — to rob
  20. bass — the instrument
  21. prune — to trim
  22. game — a match
  23. game — wild animals
  24. mug — a face

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