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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. David sat on the ________________.
  2. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  13. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  20. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  21. I'll be taking the ________________.
  22. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  23. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  24. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. rash — hasty
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. cell — a phone
  5. cell — in biology
  6. ground — the earth
  7. rash — a series
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. ground — a position
  10. wax — for sculpting
  11. ground — crushed
  12. pit — in a race
  13. tube — in a tire
  14. swing — music
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. bark — to shout
  19. swing — in golf
  20. pit — a hole
  21. tube — the underground
  22. wax — to grow
  23. pit — a fruit stone
  24. tube — a container

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