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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 120 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. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. This piece is in a major ________________.
  10. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. mouse — for a computer
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. chest — of your body
  6. bark — to shout
  7. chest — of your body
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. key — in music
  10. key — for a lock
  11. chest — a box
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. wax — to grow
  14. net — for catching
  15. net — after costs
  16. cell — a phone
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. cell — in biology
  19. net — in sport
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. key — the most important part
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. shower — rain
  24. shower — to wash

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