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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. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  2. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. The ________________ took off on time.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  18. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  22. The King held a masked ________________.
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a round shape
  2. mark — a trace
  3. cold — an illness
  4. plane — a tool
  5. shower — rain
  6. bark — to shout
  7. plane — an aircraft
  8. cold — not warm
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. cap — a hat
  12. ball — a great time
  13. cap — a lid
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. wax — to grow
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. cap — of ice
  18. plane — in geometry
  19. shower — to wash
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. mark — a grade
  22. ball — a dance
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. mark — to pay attention

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