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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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  4. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  15. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  23. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  24. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. mine — for digging
  3. rock — music
  4. board — to get on
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. chest — a box
  7. net — in sport
  8. chest — of your body
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. wax — to grow
  11. branch — of a bank
  12. net — for catching
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. rock — to move gently
  15. rock — a stone
  16. branch — a division
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. bark — to shout
  19. wax — in the ear
  20. chest — of your body
  21. net — after costs
  22. board — a committee
  23. board — a flat piece
  24. branch — of a tree

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