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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.

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: wound · plane · bark · march · wax · bear · spring · face

  1. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  9. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. The ________________ took off on time.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  24. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. spring — a coil
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. plane — a tool
  5. wound — an injury
  6. march — the month
  7. face — part of the head
  8. bear — the animal
  9. plane — in geometry
  10. wax — to grow
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. bear — the animal
  13. march — music
  14. bark — to shout
  15. plane — an aircraft
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. wax — for sculpting
  18. march — the month
  19. spring — of water
  20. face — to confront
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. wound — an injury
  23. bear — to put up with
  24. face — to point toward

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