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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. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  15. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  20. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — out of danger
  2. wax — to grow
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. clip — a video
  5. leaves — lets stay
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. cold — not warm
  9. clip — for paper
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. leaves — to go away
  12. field — farmland
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. safe — out of danger
  15. leaves — of a tree
  16. clip — to cut
  17. object — an aim
  18. field — for sport
  19. object — to protest
  20. safe — a strongbox
  21. cold — an illness
  22. field — a subject
  23. bark — to shout
  24. object — a thing

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