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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. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  2. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  11. That was ________________ to happen.
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  19. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. hide — animal skin
  3. land — to come down
  4. spell — a short time
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. land — ground
  10. wax — in the ear
  11. bound — certain
  12. wax — to grow
  13. spell — magic
  14. rock — a stone
  15. spell — letters
  16. rock — to move gently
  17. land — a country
  18. rock — music
  19. bound — tied together
  20. bark — to shout
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. row — to paddle
  23. bound — obliged
  24. row — a line

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