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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: game · bore · bark · bear · wind · staff · perch · wax

  1. That was a fun ________________.
  2. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  3. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  15. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  16. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  17. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  20. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. bore — gave birth
  3. staff — a stick
  4. bark — to shout
  5. bear — the animal
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. bear — the animal
  8. game — wild animals
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. bore — to tire
  11. wind — moving air
  12. bore — to drill
  13. wind — moving air
  14. staff — employees
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. wax — for sculpting
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. bear — to put up with
  20. wax — to grow
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. perch — the fish
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. staff — employees

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