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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. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  2. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  12. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  23. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  24. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. bark — to shout
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. field — for sport
  6. current — of water
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. board — to get on
  9. wax — to grow
  10. hand — in cards
  11. bowl — to roll
  12. fine — high quality
  13. hand — help
  14. current — electric
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. bowl — a football final
  17. field — a subject
  18. board — a flat piece
  19. field — farmland
  20. fine — a penalty
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. fine — all right
  23. current — happening now
  24. board — a committee

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