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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. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  18. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  19. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. wax — to grow
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. bore — gave birth
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. bowl — a dish
  7. bark — to shout
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. shower — rain
  11. cell — in biology
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. bowl — a football final
  15. shower — to wash
  16. bat — the animal
  17. bore — to tire
  18. bore — to drill
  19. patient — calm and waiting
  20. cell — a phone
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. wax — for sculpting
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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