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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. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. What do you think of the new ________________?
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  8. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. Where did you ________________ them?
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — a cup
  2. wax — to grow
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. content — happy
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. cabinet — a cupboard
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. march — the month
  10. last — final
  11. mug — a face
  12. march — the month
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. march — music
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. last — finally
  18. sharp — clever
  19. wax — in the ear
  20. content — the amount
  21. mug — to rob
  22. last — to go on
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. bark — to shout

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