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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. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  11. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  17. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  20. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  21. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  22. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. wax — to grow
  6. present — there
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. spring — the season
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. present — the time now
  11. root — the cause
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. spring — of water
  15. bark — to shout
  16. chair — a leader
  17. root — of a plant
  18. mine — for digging
  19. root — of a word
  20. wax — for sculpting
  21. chair — a professorship
  22. present — a gift
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. snap — to click

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