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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. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  10. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  14. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  18. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. That must've been a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. mine — for digging
  3. band — a ring
  4. drill — a practice
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. drill — the tool
  7. wax — to grow
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. leaves — of a tree
  10. leaves — to go away
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. chip — in a computer
  14. chip — for betting
  15. drill — army training
  16. bark — to shout
  17. rush — hurry
  18. chip — to eat
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. leaves — lets stay
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. rush — to hurry
  23. band — a music group
  24. rush — a thrill

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