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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. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  24. I've got the luggage in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — the season
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. spell — letters
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. bark — to shout
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. last — final
  9. fall — to drop
  10. deal — a big deal
  11. last — to go on
  12. spell — magic
  13. last — finally
  14. deal — to handle
  15. wax — to grow
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. spell — a short time
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. bat — the animal
  21. deal — an agreement
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. fall — to drop
  24. trunk — of a car

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