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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: mark · cold · rule · bark · wax · ball · racket · snap

  1. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  18. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  21. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  22. The King held a masked ________________.
  23. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — a grade
  2. cold — not warm
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. wax — to grow
  5. rule — a law
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. bark — to shout
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. snap — to click
  11. ball — a great time
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. cold — an illness
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. racket — a loud noise
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. mark — to pay attention
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. rule — government
  21. rule — to rule out
  22. ball — a dance
  23. mark — a trace
  24. ball — a round shape

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