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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. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  10. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  11. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  12. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  13. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. The King held a masked ________________.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. court — of law
  4. court — for sport
  5. cue — a signal
  6. court — of a king
  7. cue — a hint
  8. hand — help
  9. pass — to spend time
  10. ball — a great time
  11. cue — for pool
  12. ball — a round shape
  13. pass — to succeed
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. pass — a permit
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. bark — to shout
  18. ball — a dance
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. ground — the earth
  21. hand — in cards
  22. ground — crushed
  23. ground — a position
  24. wax — to grow

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