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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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  8. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  11. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  16. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  17. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  19. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  23. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. tear — to rip
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. wake — to stop sleeping
  8. present — the time now
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. dip — to sink
  11. present — a gift
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. fork — in a road
  14. bark — to shout
  15. dip — a sauce
  16. fork — to eat with
  17. wax — for sculpting
  18. wake — a trail
  19. present — there
  20. tear — from crying
  21. tear — from crying
  22. dip — to dunk
  23. wax — to grow
  24. bark — of a tree

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