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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: sharp · mark · bark · current · court · wax · stand · bat

  1. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. I can't ________________ this cold.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  10. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  17. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. stand — to bear
  3. wax — to grow
  4. sharp — clever
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. stand — on your feet
  10. current — happening now
  11. bark — to shout
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. mark — a trace
  14. court — for sport
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. mark — a grade
  17. stand — for spectators
  18. court — of law
  19. current — electric
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. court — of a king
  22. current — of water
  23. bat — the animal
  24. wax — in the ear

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