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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. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. That was ________________ to happen.
  10. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  11. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  12. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. I've got to change the light ________________.
  18. The light ________________ burned out.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  24. We are ________________ to obey laws.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. bound — tied together
  3. march — the month
  4. bark — to shout
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. wax — to grow
  7. band — a ring
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. bound — certain
  10. wax — in the ear
  11. lean — to bend
  12. lean — thin
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. march — the month
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. bulb — for light
  18. bulb — for light
  19. bat — the animal
  20. lean — to rest against
  21. band — a music group
  22. march — music
  23. bulb — of a plant
  24. bound — obliged

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