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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. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  10. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  11. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  14. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  15. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. racket — a loud noise
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. hand — help
  5. scale — size or range
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. bore — to tire
  10. bore — to drill
  11. fine — all right
  12. bat — the animal
  13. scale — for weighing
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. fine — high quality
  18. scale — in music
  19. hand — in cards
  20. wax — to grow
  21. bark — to shout
  22. bore — gave birth
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. fine — a penalty

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