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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 120 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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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 · perch · tear · bark · spring · kid · stand · board

  1. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  5. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  9. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  10. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. I can't ________________ this cold.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  23. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — to shout
  2. tear — from crying
  3. tear — to rip
  4. board — a flat piece
  5. perch — the fish
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. spring — a coil
  8. board — to get on
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. tear — from crying
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. spring — of water
  14. kid — to tease
  15. stand — to bear
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. stand — for spectators
  19. kid — child
  20. board — a committee
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. stand — on your feet
  23. wax — to grow
  24. spring — the season

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