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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 120 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 sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  2. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  9. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  13. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  16. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  17. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. What do you think of the new ________________?
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — to shout
  2. drill — army training
  3. chest — a box
  4. dip — to dunk
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. cabinet — a cupboard
  10. chest — of your body
  11. wax — to grow
  12. dip — a sauce
  13. dip — to sink
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. chip — to eat
  16. chip — for betting
  17. chip — in a computer
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. drill — a practice
  21. chest — of your body
  22. band — a music group
  23. drill — the tool
  24. band — a ring

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