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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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
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 · racket · bark · ground · mug · mine · cell · dip

  1. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  6. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  13. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  14. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  15. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. Where did you ________________ them?
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  23. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. ground — crushed
  3. wax — to grow
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. dip — a sauce
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. ground — a position
  8. bark — to shout
  9. mine — for digging
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. dip — to dunk
  14. wax — for sculpting
  15. racket — a loud noise
  16. cell — in biology
  17. mug — a face
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. mug — to rob
  21. ground — the earth
  22. mug — a cup
  23. dip — to sink
  24. mine — belonging to me

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