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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. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. I can't ________________ this cold.
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  20. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  23. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  24. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. chair — a leader
  3. bark — to shout
  4. row — to paddle
  5. net — for catching
  6. spell — letters
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. spell — magic
  11. calf — of the leg
  12. row — a line
  13. stand — to bear
  14. wax — to grow
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. spell — a short time
  17. net — after costs
  18. net — in sport
  19. chair — to sit on
  20. stand — for spectators
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. stand — on your feet

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