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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. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  16. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  17. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  21. Have you found your soul ________________?
  22. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  23. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  24. Don't do anything ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. prune — to trim
  4. bark — to shout
  5. wave — of the sea
  6. degree — from a university
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. last — final
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. last — to go on
  11. degree — temperature
  12. mate — a friend
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. degree — an amount
  15. wave — a sudden rise
  16. rash — a series
  17. wave — with your hand
  18. prune — to trim
  19. last — finally
  20. wax — to grow
  21. mate — a partner
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. mate — to breed
  24. rash — hasty

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