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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. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  3. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  4. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  10. What do you think of the new ________________?
  11. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  14. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  19. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  20. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  21. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  22. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  23. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. lean — to bend
  4. lean — thin
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. bark — to shout
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. cabinet — a cupboard
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. trunk — of a tree
  12. wax — to grow
  13. lean — to rest against
  14. bowl — to roll
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. bowl — a football final
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. trunk — of an elephant
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. fan — to cool the air
  21. trunk — of a car
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. wax — for sculpting
  24. straw — dry grass

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