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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. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  21. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — to shout
  2. wind — moving air
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. spell — letters
  6. spell — magic
  7. wind — moving air
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. drill — the tool
  10. drill — army training
  11. game — wild animals
  12. wax — to grow
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. drill — a practice
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. wave — a sudden rise
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. game — a match
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. wave — with your hand
  22. spell — a short time
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. wave — of the sea

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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