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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. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  9. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  10. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  11. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  12. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  13. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. Did you ________________ the meat?
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to tire
  2. wax — to grow
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. last — to go on
  5. staff — a stick
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. season — of the year
  8. craft — a skill
  9. craft — a handicraft
  10. wax — in the ear
  11. staff — employees
  12. bore — to drill
  13. season — in sport
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. staff — employees
  16. sharp — clever
  17. bore — gave birth
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. last — final
  20. craft — boats
  21. bark — to shout
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. season — to add flavour
  24. last — finally

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