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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. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. net — after costs
  4. pit — a hole
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. bark — to shout
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. wax — in the ear
  11. wax — to grow
  12. mark — a trace
  13. net — in sport
  14. snap — to click
  15. net — for catching
  16. land — a country
  17. land — ground
  18. pit — in a race
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. pit — a fruit stone
  21. hand — in cards
  22. mark — a grade
  23. land — to come down
  24. hand — help

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