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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 120 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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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: wind · bark · wax · cue · prune · bear · chest · rule

  1. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  2. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  12. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  21. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  22. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  23. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  24. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. bear — the animal
  3. bark — to shout
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. wind — moving air
  6. cue — a hint
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. chest — of your body
  10. wind — moving air
  11. cue — a signal
  12. cue — for pool
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. prune — to trim
  15. bear — the animal
  16. chest — a box
  17. chest — of your body
  18. wax — to grow
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. bear — to put up with
  21. rule — a law
  22. prune — to trim
  23. rule — government
  24. rule — to rule out

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