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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. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  6. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  7. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  8. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  15. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  16. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  19. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  20. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  21. Did you ________________ the meat?
  22. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  24. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. hand — in cards
  5. fine — all right
  6. fine — high quality
  7. fine — a penalty
  8. present — there
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. hand — help
  11. root — the cause
  12. bark — to shout
  13. season — of the year
  14. present — a gift
  15. bass — low music
  16. bass — the fish
  17. present — the time now
  18. root — of a word
  19. bass — the instrument
  20. wax — for sculpting
  21. season — to add flavour
  22. wax — to grow
  23. season — in sport
  24. root — of a plant

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