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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. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  6. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  7. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  8. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  9. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  10. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  20. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  23. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  24. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. bark — to shout
  3. wax — to grow
  4. squash — the sport
  5. squash — to crush
  6. track — a song
  7. track — to keep track
  8. rest — what's left
  9. rest — what's left
  10. root — of a word
  11. clip — to cut
  12. rest — a break
  13. clip — for paper
  14. leaves — of a tree
  15. clip — a video
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. wax — for sculpting
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. track — a path
  20. leaves — to go away
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. leaves — lets stay
  23. root — of a plant
  24. root — the cause

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