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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. The tickets are free of ________________.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  11. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  12. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. The King held a masked ________________.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  20. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. The ________________ took off on time.
  24. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. charge — a price
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. charge — in control
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. wax — to grow
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. bark — to shout
  10. plane — in geometry
  11. ball — a round shape
  12. branch — a division
  13. band — a music group
  14. ball — a dance
  15. kid — to tease
  16. band — a ring
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. ball — a great time
  20. charge — electricity
  21. kid — child
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. plane — an aircraft
  24. plane — a tool

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