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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. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. What do you think of the new ________________?
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  16. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  23. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  24. Did you ________________ the meat?

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. court — for sport
  5. bark — to shout
  6. march — the month
  7. ground — a position
  8. ground — crushed
  9. march — the month
  10. wax — to grow
  11. cabinet — a cupboard
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. court — of a king
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. season — in sport
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. ground — the earth
  18. season — of the year
  19. court — of law
  20. march — music
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. hide — animal skin
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. season — to add flavour

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