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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. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. The tickets are free of ________________.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  15. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  16. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  19. We're on a ________________ here.
  20. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  21. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  22. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. charge — a price
  3. cell — a phone
  4. cell — in biology
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. wax — to grow
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. cold — an illness
  9. rest — a break
  10. wake — a trail
  11. bark — to shout
  12. charge — electricity
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. wax — for sculpting
  15. rest — what's left
  16. roll — a cake
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. roll — a list
  19. roll — on a roll
  20. rest — what's left
  21. charge — in control
  22. wake — before a funeral
  23. cold — not warm
  24. cold — the Cold War

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