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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. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  11. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  12. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. ground — crushed
  3. bark — to shout
  4. ruler — for measuring
  5. chest — of your body
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. ruler — for measuring
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. track — a song
  11. fork — a garden tool
  12. track — a path
  13. last — finally
  14. ruler — a monarch
  15. ground — a position
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. fork — to eat with
  18. ground — the earth
  19. chest — a box
  20. last — to go on
  21. track — to keep track
  22. fork — in a road
  23. last — final
  24. chest — of your body

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