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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 120 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. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  2. Where did you ________________ them?
  3. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  11. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  12. The ________________ took off on time.
  13. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  18. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  22. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — a face
  2. mug — to rob
  3. fine — high quality
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. file — a document
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. file — a tool
  8. staff — employees
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. plane — a tool
  11. fine — a penalty
  12. plane — an aircraft
  13. staff — a stick
  14. wax — to grow
  15. staff — employees
  16. file — a line of people
  17. plane — in geometry
  18. mug — a cup
  19. bark — to shout
  20. wound — an injury
  21. fine — all right
  22. wax — in the ear
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. wound — an injury

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