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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. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  10. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  11. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  12. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  13. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  21. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  24. The spa offers ________________ extensions.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. object — an aim
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. leaves — lets stay
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. lash — a whip stroke
  10. lash — to lash out
  11. mouse — the animal
  12. leaves — of a tree
  13. mouse — for a computer
  14. bark — to shout
  15. wax — to grow
  16. leaves — to go away
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. band — a music group
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. mouse — the animal
  21. object — to protest
  22. band — a ring
  23. object — a thing
  24. lash — an eyelash

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