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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. When are we going to ________________?
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  11. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  12. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  19. The tickets are free of ________________.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  22. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  23. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. cold — an illness
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. bark — to shout
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. staff — employees
  7. cold — not warm
  8. staff — employees
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. charge — electricity
  11. mark — a trace
  12. staff — a stick
  13. land — a country
  14. land — ground
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. wax — to grow
  17. bat — the animal
  18. charge — in control
  19. charge — a price
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. wax — for sculpting
  22. mark — a grade
  23. mark — to pay attention
  24. cold — the Cold War

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