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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. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  7. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. Have you found your soul ________________?
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  18. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  19. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  20. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  21. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. Don't do anything ________________.
  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. wax — for sculpting
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. degree — from a university
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. bark — to shout
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. rash — a series
  8. bat — the animal
  9. mate — a partner
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. patient — calm and waiting
  12. wax — to grow
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. mate — to breed
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. degree — temperature
  17. wave — of the sea
  18. mate — a friend
  19. wave — a sudden rise
  20. wave — with your hand
  21. rash — on the skin
  22. degree — an amount
  23. rash — hasty
  24. wax — in the ear

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