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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. He was locked up in a ________________.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in a prison
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. cell — in biology
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. cell — a phone
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. drill — army training
  8. drill — a practice
  9. capital — money
  10. stock — a soup base
  11. drill — the tool
  12. wax — to grow
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. staff — employees
  15. stock — goods
  16. staff — a stick
  17. bark — to shout
  18. capital — a city
  19. stock — shares
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. wound — an injury
  22. staff — employees
  23. wound — an injury
  24. bark — of a tree

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