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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. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  4. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  10. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  18. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. I assure you, everything's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. fine — a penalty
  4. scale — for weighing
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. bark — to shout
  7. scale — in music
  8. hand — help
  9. pit — a hole
  10. pit — a fruit stone
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. fine — high quality
  13. hand — in cards
  14. capital — a city
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. wax — to grow
  17. club — a group
  18. pit — in a race
  19. capital — money
  20. club — for golf
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. scale — size or range
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. fine — all right

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