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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. I'll be taking the ________________.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  10. The ________________ went through the wall.
  11. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  16. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. That was ________________ to happen.
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. field — farmland
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. hand — in cards
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. tube — a container
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. nail — on a finger
  12. field — a subject
  13. land — a country
  14. field — for sport
  15. tube — in a tire
  16. bound — obliged
  17. bark — to shout
  18. land — ground
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. bound — certain
  21. wax — to grow
  22. hand — help
  23. bound — tied together
  24. land — to come down

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