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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.

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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: court · last · staff · wax · bound · bay · bark · pitcher

  1. False peace will not ________________.
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  9. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  10. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. My mare is ________________ in color.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  19. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. That was ________________ to happen.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. bay — to keep at bay
  4. court — of a king
  5. staff — employees
  6. wax — to grow
  7. last — final
  8. bay — a part of the sea
  9. bound — tied together
  10. wax — for sculpting
  11. court — for sport
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. court — of law
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. bay — a horse colour
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. bark — to shout
  18. bound — obliged
  19. staff — employees
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. staff — a stick
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. bound — certain
  24. last — finally

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