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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 120 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. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  18. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  19. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  20. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. Don't do anything ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. fork — in a road
  4. swing — to play on
  5. wave — with your hand
  6. squash — the sport
  7. swing — music
  8. rash — a series
  9. wave — of the sea
  10. cell — a phone
  11. swing — in golf
  12. wax — to grow
  13. squash — the vegetable
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. squash — to crush
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. fork — to eat with
  18. wave — a sudden rise
  19. wax — in the ear
  20. fork — a garden tool
  21. cell — in biology
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. bark — to shout
  24. rash — hasty

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