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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. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  17. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  18. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a flat piece
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. bark — to shout
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. net — after costs
  7. wax — to grow
  8. board — to get on
  9. file — a tool
  10. vault — a safe
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. file — a document
  13. ruler — a monarch
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. net — for catching
  16. vault — an arched ceiling
  17. board — a committee
  18. ruler — for measuring
  19. file — a line of people
  20. ruler — for measuring
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. net — in sport
  23. vault — in gymnastics
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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