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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. He is an ace ________________.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  4. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  5. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  6. Have you met the new head ________________?
  7. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  8. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  17. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  18. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  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. pitcher — in baseball
  2. chest — of your body
  3. rock — music
  4. track — to keep track
  5. track — a path
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. rule — a law
  8. rock — a stone
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. chest — of your body
  11. coach — pulled by horses
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. track — a song
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. rock — to move gently
  18. rule — to rule out
  19. bark — to shout
  20. rule — government
  21. wax — to grow
  22. chest — a box
  23. pitcher — a jug
  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