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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. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  8. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  13. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  14. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  19. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  20. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  21. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  22. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bank — for money
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. bank — of a river
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. ground — crushed
  6. wax — to grow
  7. pitch — a sales talk
  8. club — for golf
  9. season — of the year
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. season — in sport
  12. club — a group
  13. face — to point toward
  14. face — to confront
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. face — part of the head
  17. bark — to shout
  18. club — for dancing
  19. bank — for money
  20. pitch — completely
  21. wax — for sculpting
  22. pitch — a sports field
  23. ground — the earth
  24. ground — a position

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