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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. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  11. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  14. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  15. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  16. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  19. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  20. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. file — a tool
  4. leaves — lets stay
  5. spring — of water
  6. file — a line of people
  7. wax — to grow
  8. present — a gift
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. present — the time now
  11. bore — gave birth
  12. bark — to shout
  13. bore — to drill
  14. wax — for sculpting
  15. leaves — of a tree
  16. bank — for money
  17. spring — a coil
  18. bank — of a river
  19. leaves — to go away
  20. bank — for money
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. bore — to tire
  23. file — a document
  24. present — there

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