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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. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  16. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  21. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  22. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  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 — in the ear
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. band — a ring
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. last — finally
  6. jam — to spread on bread
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. last — to go on
  9. last — final
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. jam — a tight spot
  13. wax — to grow
  14. bark — to shout
  15. season — of the year
  16. jam — in traffic
  17. shower — rain
  18. band — a music group
  19. season — in sport
  20. foot — part of the body
  21. foot — the bottom
  22. foot — a measure
  23. shower — to wash
  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