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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. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. The King held a masked ________________.
  9. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  10. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  15. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  18. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. wave — with your hand
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. wax — to grow
  5. hand — help
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. drill — a practice
  8. ball — a dance
  9. wave — a sudden rise
  10. ball — a round shape
  11. bark — to shout
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. pit — in a race
  15. pit — a hole
  16. drill — the tool
  17. wave — of the sea
  18. ball — a great time
  19. row — to paddle
  20. pit — a fruit stone
  21. hand — in cards
  22. drill — army training
  23. row — a line
  24. hand — part of the body

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