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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. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  8. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  19. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  20. Have you met the new head ________________?
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  23. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. spell — a short time
  5. mate — a partner
  6. mate — a friend
  7. trunk — of a tree
  8. trunk — of an elephant
  9. spell — letters
  10. coach — pulled by horses
  11. face — part of the head
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. wax — to grow
  14. bark — to shout
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. face — to confront
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. mouse — the animal
  19. mouse — for a computer
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. spell — magic
  22. mate — to breed
  23. face — to point toward
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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