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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. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  7. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  8. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  9. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  15. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  18. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  21. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  22. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  23. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  24. He is as ________________ as a wolf.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. stem — of a plant
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. board — to get on
  7. stem — a stem cell
  8. board — a flat piece
  9. lean — to rest against
  10. cold — not warm
  11. cold — an illness
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. lean — to bend
  15. staff — employees
  16. bark — to shout
  17. stem — to come from
  18. staff — employees
  19. chair — a leader
  20. wax — to grow
  21. chair — a professorship
  22. board — a committee
  23. staff — a stick
  24. lean — thin

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