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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. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  23. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  24. I can't ________________ this cold.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — to shout
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. stand — for spectators
  5. fall — the season
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. kid — child
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. squash — the sport
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. row — to paddle
  15. fall — to drop
  16. kid — to tease
  17. wax — to grow
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. stand — on your feet
  20. row — a line
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. fall — to drop
  23. squash — to crush
  24. stand — to bear

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