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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. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  5. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  6. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  9. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  10. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — to shout
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. last — final
  4. pass — to succeed
  5. current — of water
  6. leaves — of a tree
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. current — happening now
  9. pass — a permit
  10. wax — for sculpting
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. current — electric
  14. scale — size or range
  15. pass — to spend time
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. leaves — lets stay
  18. scale — in music
  19. hand — help
  20. leaves — to go away
  21. wax — to grow
  22. hand — in cards
  23. last — finally
  24. last — to go on

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