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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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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: march · bark · net · chip · sharp · wax · spell · firm

  1. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  6. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  7. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  20. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. wax — to grow
  3. net — after costs
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. spell — a short time
  6. chip — in a computer
  7. firm — a company
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. firm — decided
  10. sharp — clever
  11. spell — magic
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. march — music
  14. net — in sport
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. march — the month
  17. chip — for betting
  18. net — for catching
  19. firm — steady
  20. wax — for sculpting
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. bark — to shout
  23. chip — to eat
  24. march — the month

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