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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: hide · ground · club · wax · bark · cold · cell · staff

  1. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  8. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  9. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  15. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  18. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  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. wax — to grow
  2. ground — crushed
  3. cold — an illness
  4. hide — animal skin
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. ground — the earth
  7. staff — a stick
  8. staff — employees
  9. club — for golf
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. cell — a phone
  14. wax — for sculpting
  15. staff — employees
  16. bark — to shout
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. club — for dancing
  19. cell — in biology
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. cold — not warm
  22. club — a group
  23. ground — a position
  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