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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. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  5. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  8. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  20. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  21. The light ________________ burned out.
  22. I've got to change the light ________________.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — to shout
  2. shower — to wash
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. kick — in football
  5. mark — to pay attention
  6. chair — a leader
  7. kick — with a leg
  8. kick — a thrill
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. field — a subject
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. bulb — of a plant
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. field — for sport
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. mark — a trace
  18. shower — rain
  19. wax — to grow
  20. mark — a grade
  21. bulb — for light
  22. bulb — for light
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. field — farmland

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