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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. Where did you ________________ them?
  2. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  12. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  16. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  19. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  24. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — to rob
  2. drill — a practice
  3. march — music
  4. game — wild animals
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. bear — the animal
  8. march — the month
  9. present — a gift
  10. game — a match
  11. mug — a face
  12. present — there
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. wax — for sculpting
  16. drill — army training
  17. bark — to shout
  18. mug — a cup
  19. bear — to put up with
  20. drill — the tool
  21. bear — the animal
  22. march — the month
  23. present — the time now
  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