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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. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  5. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  8. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  9. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  10. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  15. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  21. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  22. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  23. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  24. She's very handy with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to tire
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. dip — to sink
  5. pitch — a sales talk
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. saw — past of 'see'
  8. dip — to dunk
  9. dip — a sauce
  10. bowl — to roll
  11. ground — a position
  12. pitch — completely
  13. bark — to shout
  14. pitch — a sports field
  15. bowl — a dish
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. saw — the tool
  18. ground — crushed
  19. ground — the earth
  20. bore — to drill
  21. bowl — a football final
  22. wax — to grow
  23. bore — gave birth
  24. saw — the 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