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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. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  18. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  21. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  22. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  24. Have you met the new head ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. calf — of the leg
  3. sharp — clever
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. current — electric
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. bark — to shout
  11. bear — the animal
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. field — a subject
  14. field — farmland
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. wax — to grow
  17. current — happening now
  18. current — of water
  19. field — for sport
  20. bear — to put up with
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. bear — the animal
  23. sharp — exactly
  24. coach — a trainer

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