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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. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. The ________________ market has crashed.
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  14. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  20. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  21. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  22. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  23. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. calf — of the leg
  4. game — a match
  5. wound — an injury
  6. club — a group
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. bark — to shout
  9. stock — shares
  10. stock — goods
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. wound — an injury
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. game — wild animals
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. club — for golf
  20. stick — to attach or keep to
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. wax — to grow
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. game — a kind of play

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