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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. I'll be taking the ________________.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. I can't ________________ this cold.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  7. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  13. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  14. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  15. The King held a masked ________________.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  18. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  19. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  20. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  21. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. stand — to bear
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. wax — to grow
  6. tube — in a tire
  7. deal — an agreement
  8. bark — to shout
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. ball — a round shape
  11. bat — the animal
  12. lean — to rest against
  13. deal — a big deal
  14. stand — for spectators
  15. ball — a dance
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. stand — on your feet
  18. lean — thin
  19. lean — to bend
  20. ball — a great time
  21. deal — to handle
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. tube — a container
  24. bark — of a tree

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