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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: bark · ground · sharp · fan · safe · wax · tear · cap

  1. It's one o'clock ________________.
  2. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  8. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  9. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  10. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  18. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  19. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. fan — to cool the air
  3. wax — to grow
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. ground — the earth
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. safe — a strongbox
  9. cap — a lid
  10. cap — a hat
  11. tear — from crying
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. sharp — clever
  14. bark — to shout
  15. ground — crushed
  16. tear — from crying
  17. cap — of ice
  18. safe — out of danger
  19. safe — out of danger
  20. tear — to rip
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. ground — a position
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. bark — of a tree

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