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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. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  4. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  11. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  12. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  24. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — to shout
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. foot — a measure
  5. track — a song
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. cold — not warm
  8. foot — the bottom
  9. tear — from crying
  10. foot — part of the body
  11. mouse — the animal
  12. track — a path
  13. cold — an illness
  14. tear — from crying
  15. pound — to hit hard
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. wax — to grow
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. mouse — for a computer
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. pound — for dogs
  22. tear — to rip
  23. track — to keep track
  24. pound — a weight

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