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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. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  4. We're almost out of ________________.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  14. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  15. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  16. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  20. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  21. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  22. You don't need to ________________ round.
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. ground — crushed
  3. track — a path
  4. pop — soda
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. wound — an injury
  7. field — for sport
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. wound — an injury
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. field — a subject
  12. field — farmland
  13. track — to keep track
  14. pop — music
  15. lash — to lash out
  16. track — a song
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. ground — the earth
  19. lash — an eyelash
  20. lash — a whip stroke
  21. wax — for sculpting
  22. pop — to visit
  23. bark — to shout
  24. ground — a position

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