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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. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  2. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  11. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  12. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  21. Did you ________________ the meat?
  22. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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

Answer key

  1. object — a thing
  2. season — in sport
  3. file — a line of people
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. spell — magic
  6. spell — letters
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. object — an aim
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. staff — a stick
  11. staff — employees
  12. staff — employees
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. season — of the year
  16. spell — a short time
  17. file — a tool
  18. wax — to grow
  19. file — a document
  20. prune — to trim
  21. season — to add flavour
  22. object — to protest
  23. bark — to shout
  24. prune — to trim

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