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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  17. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  18. The tickets are free of ________________.
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  21. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  22. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. branch — of a tree
  3. wax — to grow
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. cold — not warm
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. charge — electricity
  8. prune — to trim
  9. cold — an illness
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. bark — to shout
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. branch — of a bank
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. branch — a division
  16. bear — the animal
  17. bear — to put up with
  18. charge — a price
  19. prune — to trim
  20. charge — in control
  21. bear — the animal
  22. wax — in the ear
  23. row — to paddle
  24. row — a line

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