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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. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  13. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  14. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  23. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  24. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. current — electric
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. current — happening now
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. land — a country
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. foot — the bottom
  11. field — a subject
  12. firm — a company
  13. foot — part of the body
  14. firm — steady
  15. land — ground
  16. land — to come down
  17. field — for sport
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. firm — decided
  20. field — farmland
  21. bark — to shout
  22. current — of water
  23. wax — to grow
  24. foot — a measure

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