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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. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  10. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. Did you ________________ the button?
  14. The King held a masked ________________.
  15. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  16. That was ________________ to happen.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  19. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  22. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. object — to protest
  2. wax — to grow
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. game — a match
  5. cell — in biology
  6. press — a publisher
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. bound — obliged
  10. object — an aim
  11. cell — a phone
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. press — to push
  14. ball — a dance
  15. bound — tied together
  16. bound — certain
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. object — a thing
  19. press — newspapers
  20. bark — to shout
  21. ball — a round shape
  22. ball — a great time
  23. game — wild animals
  24. wax — in the ear

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