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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 moon will ________________ and wane.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  10. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  15. Have you found your soul ________________?
  16. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  17. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. This piece is in a major ________________.
  23. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  24. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. field — farmland
  6. key — for a lock
  7. bark — to shout
  8. mate — a friend
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. lie — to recline
  11. file — a tool
  12. field — a subject
  13. file — a document
  14. craft — a skill
  15. mate — a partner
  16. craft — boats
  17. key — the most important part
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. field — for sport
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. file — a line of people
  22. key — in music
  23. mate — to breed
  24. craft — a handicraft

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