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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: pit · wax · foot · rest · wound · spring · mine · bark

  1. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  2. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  15. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  16. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. I would like to have a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — part of the body
  2. pit — a fruit stone
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. foot — a measure
  6. mine — for digging
  7. wax — to grow
  8. spring — of water
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. wax — in the ear
  11. wound — an injury
  12. rest — what's left
  13. spring — a coil
  14. pit — in a race
  15. pit — a hole
  16. rest — what's left
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. foot — the bottom
  19. bark — to shout
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. wound — an injury
  22. spring — the season
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. rest — a break

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