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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 124 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 museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  6. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  9. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  10. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  18. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  19. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  23. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. rule — to rule out
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. club — for golf
  6. club — a group
  7. bark — to shout
  8. wax — to grow
  9. track — a path
  10. rule — government
  11. land — a country
  12. track — to keep track
  13. land — to come down
  14. land — ground
  15. squash — the sport
  16. wound — an injury
  17. rule — a law
  18. wax — in the ear
  19. track — a song
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. wound — an injury
  22. club — for dancing
  23. squash — to crush
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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