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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. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  3. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  4. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  5. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  11. The ________________ took off on time.
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  15. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. dip — to dunk
  3. dip — a sauce
  4. lean — to bend
  5. plane — a tool
  6. last — final
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. lean — to rest against
  9. wax — to grow
  10. dip — to sink
  11. plane — an aircraft
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. bark — to shout
  14. wax — for sculpting
  15. mark — a grade
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. chair — a leader
  19. plane — in geometry
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. mark — a trace
  22. last — finally
  23. last — to go on
  24. mark — to pay attention

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