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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. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  2. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  3. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. This piece is in a major ________________.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  17. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — to shout
  2. key — the most important part
  3. bore — to tire
  4. spell — a short time
  5. ground — crushed
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. key — in music
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. ground — a position
  11. bore — to drill
  12. spell — letters
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. wax — to grow
  16. bore — gave birth
  17. key — for a lock
  18. spell — magic
  19. ground — the earth
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. wax — for sculpting
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. mine — for digging

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