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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. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  23. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. wound — an injury
  3. craft — a handicraft
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. wound — an injury
  6. band — a ring
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. last — finally
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. wax — to grow
  13. shower — to wash
  14. craft — a skill
  15. band — a music group
  16. last — final
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. bark — to shout
  19. craft — boats
  20. last — to go on
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. wax — for sculpting
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. shower — rain

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