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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. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  17. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  21. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  22. That must've been a ________________.
  23. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — the tool
  2. bark — to shout
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. wave — with your hand
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. ground — the earth
  8. wax — to grow
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. chest — of your body
  11. hand — help
  12. ground — crushed
  13. ground — a position
  14. drill — army training
  15. chest — a box
  16. wave — of the sea
  17. rush — hurry
  18. chest — of your body
  19. drill — a practice
  20. rush — to hurry
  21. wave — a sudden rise
  22. rush — a thrill
  23. wax — for sculpting
  24. hand — in cards

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