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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. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  5. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  14. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  19. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. Have you found your soul ________________?
  22. Have you met the new head ________________?
  23. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  24. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. wave — with your hand
  5. bass — low music
  6. bark — to shout
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. shower — rain
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. bass — the instrument
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. wave — a sudden rise
  14. coach — pulled by horses
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. wave — of the sea
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. bass — the fish
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. shower — to wash
  21. mate — a partner
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. wax — to grow
  24. mate — to breed

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