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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. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. That must've been a ________________.
  11. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. Have you settled on a ________________?
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  19. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  20. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  21. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  24. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. spell — a short time
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. root — the cause
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. spell — letters
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. wax — to grow
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. rush — a thrill
  11. rush — hurry
  12. spell — magic
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. bat — the animal
  15. bark — to shout
  16. root — of a plant
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. fork — in a road
  19. date — the fruit
  20. root — of a word
  21. fork — to eat with
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. rush — to hurry
  24. date — on the calendar

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