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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. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. The King held a masked ________________.
  5. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  6. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  7. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  12. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  18. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  19. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  20. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  21. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  22. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  23. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  24. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. band — a music group
  4. ball — a dance
  5. craft — boats
  6. ball — a round shape
  7. pitch — a sports field
  8. bark — to shout
  9. ball — a great time
  10. wax — to grow
  11. can — a tin
  12. pitch — completely
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. rule — government
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. can — to be able to
  18. pitch — a sales talk
  19. can — a tin
  20. craft — a handicraft
  21. wax — for sculpting
  22. rule — a law
  23. rule — to rule out
  24. craft — a skill

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