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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 116 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: wax · bark · ground · squash · clip · leaves · cold · suit

  1. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. When will it ________________ you to start?
  20. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  21. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. bark — to shout
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. leaves — of a tree
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. clip — for paper
  7. squash — the sport
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. suit — in cards
  10. squash — to crush
  11. clip — to cut
  12. ground — a position
  13. leaves — to go away
  14. ground — the earth
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. cold — not warm
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. suit — to fit
  20. wax — to grow
  21. leaves — lets stay
  22. ground — crushed
  23. clip — a video
  24. suit — clothes

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