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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 · game · wax · firm · net · last · safe · band

  1. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  8. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — decided
  2. game — a match
  3. game — wild animals
  4. wax — to grow
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. band — a ring
  7. safe — a strongbox
  8. safe — out of danger
  9. last — finally
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. bark — to shout
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. firm — a company
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. last — final
  17. net — in sport
  18. firm — steady
  19. last — to go on
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. net — after costs
  22. safe — out of danger
  23. band — a music group
  24. net — for catching

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