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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 116 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. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  6. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  9. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  12. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  17. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  21. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  22. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. bark — to shout
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. wax — to grow
  5. wave — of the sea
  6. root — the cause
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. wave — with your hand
  9. can — to be able to
  10. cold — an illness
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. root — of a word
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. hide — animal skin
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. root — of a plant
  17. can — a tin
  18. field — farmland
  19. field — a subject
  20. wave — a sudden rise
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. can — a tin
  23. field — for sport
  24. cold — not warm

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