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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 116 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: dip · file · bound · bark · game · swing · wax · shower

  1. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  10. That was ________________ to happen.
  11. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. David sat on the ________________.
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. file — a tool
  4. swing — music
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. dip — to dunk
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. dip — a sauce
  10. bound — certain
  11. bound — tied together
  12. file — a document
  13. bark — to shout
  14. swing — to play on
  15. swing — in golf
  16. dip — to sink
  17. shower — to wash
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. game — a match
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. shower — rain
  22. bound — obliged
  23. game — wild animals
  24. file — a line of people

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