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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 muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  9. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  12. When was this ________________ built?
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. My mare is ________________ in color.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. He keeps ________________ of his days.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. cold — an illness
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. bay — a part of the sea
  5. cold — not warm
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. bay — to keep at bay
  9. temple — side of the head
  10. net — after costs
  11. track — a song
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. wax — for sculpting
  15. bark — to shout
  16. net — for catching
  17. chair — a leader
  18. net — in sport
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. wax — to grow
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. bay — a horse colour
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. track — to keep track

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