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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: wax · bark · field · rock · swing · tear · bay · bore

  1. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  2. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. My mare is ________________ in color.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  13. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  19. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. David sat on the ________________.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — gave birth
  2. bay — to keep at bay
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. swing — music
  6. bay — a part of the sea
  7. bark — to shout
  8. rock — a stone
  9. tear — from crying
  10. bay — a horse colour
  11. tear — from crying
  12. rock — to move gently
  13. bore — to drill
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. wax — to grow
  16. swing — in golf
  17. field — a subject
  18. rock — music
  19. bore — to tire
  20. tear — to rip
  21. field — farmland
  22. swing — to play on
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. field — for sport

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