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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 124 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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. What do you think of the new ________________?
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. I've got to change the light ________________.
  9. She's very handy with a ________________.
  10. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  11. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. The light ________________ burned out.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  18. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  23. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  24. He works in a ________________ mill.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. cold — an illness
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. bark — to shout
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. wind — moving air
  8. bulb — for light
  9. saw — the tool
  10. club — a group
  11. saw — past of 'see'
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. bulb — for light
  14. cold — not warm
  15. wax — to grow
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. club — for golf
  18. bulb — of a plant
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. wind — moving air
  22. cabinet — a cupboard
  23. club — for dancing
  24. saw — the tool

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