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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: spring · kid · craft · mug · board · bark · wax · ground

  1. There's no middle ________________.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  4. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  5. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  6. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  17. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. Where did you ________________ them?
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. spring — of water
  3. craft — a skill
  4. craft — boats
  5. craft — a handicraft
  6. board — a committee
  7. ground — crushed
  8. ground — the earth
  9. mug — a face
  10. bark — to shout
  11. wax — to grow
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. board — to get on
  17. mug — a cup
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. spring — a coil
  20. mug — to rob
  21. kid — to tease
  22. board — a flat piece
  23. kid — child
  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