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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 116 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. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  5. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  6. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. Did you ________________ the meat?
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  15. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  20. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  23. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. rock — to move gently
  5. rock — a stone
  6. firm — a company
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. rock — music
  10. bark — to shout
  11. season — to add flavour
  12. season — of the year
  13. wax — to grow
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. racket — a loud noise
  16. clip — for paper
  17. land — ground
  18. clip — a video
  19. firm — decided
  20. firm — steady
  21. land — to come down
  22. season — in sport
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. clip — to cut

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