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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. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  5. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  16. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  19. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.

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. net — after costs
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. foot — a measure
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. lean — thin
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. wax — to grow
  10. lean — to rest against
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. lie — to recline
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. shower — to wash
  15. foot — part of the body
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. net — in sport
  18. foot — the bottom
  19. chair — to sit on
  20. net — for catching
  21. chair — a leader
  22. shower — rain
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. lean — to bend

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