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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. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. My father caught me by the ________________.
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  6. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  19. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  20. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  21. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  22. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. spring — a coil
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. bass — low music
  5. staff — employees
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. shower — to wash
  8. arm — a part of something
  9. spring — the season
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. object — to protest
  12. bass — the fish
  13. object — an aim
  14. bark — to shout
  15. staff — a stick
  16. shower — rain
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. wax — to grow
  19. object — a thing
  20. wax — for sculpting
  21. bass — the instrument
  22. staff — employees
  23. spring — of water
  24. wax — in the ear

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