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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: jam · toast · dip · game · wax · bark · wound · prune

  1. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  2. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  12. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  22. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. toast — a drink to someone
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. game — a match
  6. jam — a tight spot
  7. prune — to trim
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. dip — a sauce
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. toast — bread
  12. jam — in traffic
  13. game — wild animals
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. jam — to spread on bread
  16. wax — to grow
  17. wound — an injury
  18. dip — to dunk
  19. bark — to shout
  20. wound — an injury
  21. toast — the most admired
  22. prune — to trim
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. dip — to sink

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