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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 124 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. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  11. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  14. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  17. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  18. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. The spa offers ________________ extensions.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. ground — the earth
  3. game — wild animals
  4. ground — a position
  5. row — a line
  6. row — to paddle
  7. wax — to grow
  8. game — a match
  9. ground — crushed
  10. rule — government
  11. rule — a law
  12. bark — to shout
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. lash — to lash out
  17. lash — a whip stroke
  18. rule — to rule out
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. wax — for sculpting
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. stick — to attach or keep to
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. lash — an eyelash

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