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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 museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  13. The light ________________ burned out.
  14. Where did you ________________ them?
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. I've got to change the light ________________.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  21. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  22. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. squash — the sport
  5. bark — to shout
  6. clip — a video
  7. squash — to crush
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. net — in sport
  11. clip — for paper
  12. bulb — of a plant
  13. bulb — for light
  14. mug — to rob
  15. clip — to cut
  16. bulb — for light
  17. net — for catching
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. net — after costs
  20. mug — a face
  21. mug — a cup
  22. wax — to grow
  23. squash — the vegetable
  24. hide — animal skin

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