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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: pound · pop · bark · saw · bat · wax · hide · mine

  1. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  5. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  6. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  12. She's very handy with a ________________.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  20. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  21. He works in a ________________ mill.
  22. We're almost out of ________________.
  23. You don't need to ________________ round.
  24. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. pound — to hit hard
  5. pound — for dogs
  6. pound — a weight
  7. bark — to shout
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. saw — past of 'see'
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. pop — music
  12. saw — the tool
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. wax — to grow
  17. hide — animal skin
  18. mine — for digging
  19. wax — in the ear
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. saw — the tool
  22. pop — soda
  23. pop — to visit
  24. wax — for sculpting

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