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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. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  4. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  5. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  10. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  15. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  22. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — to put up with
  2. wax — to grow
  3. board — to get on
  4. fine — all right
  5. scale — in music
  6. shower — to wash
  7. fine — a penalty
  8. bark — to shout
  9. scale — for weighing
  10. fine — high quality
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. board — a committee
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. bear — the animal
  15. board — a flat piece
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. scale — size or range
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. wax — in the ear
  20. shower — rain
  21. wax — for sculpting
  22. bear — the animal
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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