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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. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  7. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  12. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  19. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. Many English words ________________ from Latin.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. ruler — for measuring
  3. wax — to grow
  4. bark — to shout
  5. chair — a leader
  6. ruler — a monarch
  7. stem — a stem cell
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. bore — to tire
  12. bore — to drill
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. bore — gave birth
  18. branch — of a bank
  19. wax — in the ear
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. branch — a division
  22. wake — a trail
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. stem — to come from

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