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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 owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  4. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  5. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  14. The ________________ took off on time.
  15. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  16. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. wax — to grow
  3. plane — in geometry
  4. bore — to tire
  5. tube — a container
  6. tube — the underground
  7. bark — to shout
  8. march — music
  9. hand — in cards
  10. hand — help
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. bore — gave birth
  14. plane — an aircraft
  15. bore — to drill
  16. tube — in a tire
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. march — the month
  19. plane — a tool
  20. march — the month
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. perch — the fish

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