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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 116 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. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. The ________________ took off on time.
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  19. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. wax — to grow
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. march — music
  6. fall — to drop
  7. mate — a partner
  8. plane — in geometry
  9. fall — to drop
  10. cell — in biology
  11. plane — an aircraft
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. march — the month
  14. fall — the season
  15. court — of law
  16. bark — to shout
  17. mate — to breed
  18. mate — a friend
  19. plane — a tool
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. cell — a phone
  22. court — for sport
  23. march — the month
  24. court — of a king

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