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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. Have you met the new head ________________?
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  11. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. You don't need to ________________ round.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  16. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. We're almost out of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. cell — a phone
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. wax — to grow
  8. cell — in biology
  9. bark — to shout
  10. coach — pulled by horses
  11. pop — music
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. pop — to visit
  14. hand — in cards
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. stick — to attach or keep to
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. wake — a trail
  24. pop — soda

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