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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: wax · march · bark · lean · date · ball · rock · tear

  1. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  5. Have you settled on a ________________?
  6. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  9. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  18. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  21. The King held a masked ________________.
  22. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  23. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  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. rock — music
  2. march — the month
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. ball — a great time
  7. tear — from crying
  8. rock — to move gently
  9. rock — a stone
  10. tear — to rip
  11. date — the fruit
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. march — music
  14. lean — thin
  15. march — the month
  16. bark — to shout
  17. ball — a round shape
  18. wax — in the ear
  19. tear — from crying
  20. wax — to grow
  21. ball — a dance
  22. lean — to bend
  23. lean — to rest against
  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