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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. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. Where did you ________________ them?
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  17. That must've been a ________________.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. wax — to grow
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. mug — a cup
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. clip — to cut
  8. rush — to hurry
  9. chair — a leader
  10. clip — for paper
  11. wind — moving air
  12. mug — to rob
  13. bark — to shout
  14. bass — low music
  15. clip — a video
  16. mug — a face
  17. rush — a thrill
  18. wind — moving air
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. bass — the fish
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. bass — the instrument
  23. chair — to sit on
  24. wax — in the ear

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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