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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. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  3. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  22. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  23. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  24. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. bowl — to roll
  3. craft — a skill
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. tear — to rip
  6. craft — boats
  7. bark — to shout
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. wax — to grow
  10. bowl — a dish
  11. tear — from crying
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. last — finally
  14. wind — moving air
  15. craft — a handicraft
  16. last — to go on
  17. tear — from crying
  18. last — final
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. wind — moving air
  21. racket — a loud noise
  22. wax — for sculpting
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. bowl — a football final

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