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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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468
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: ruler · fall · game · chest · bark · bear · wax · current

  1. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  2. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  3. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  14. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  19. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. current — electric
  3. current — happening now
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. bear — to put up with
  6. chest — a box
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. chest — of your body
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. wax — to grow
  11. ruler — for measuring
  12. fall — the season
  13. current — of water
  14. bear — the animal
  15. game — a match
  16. ruler — for measuring
  17. bark — to shout
  18. bear — the animal
  19. fall — to drop
  20. chest — of your body
  21. ruler — a monarch
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. game — wild animals
  24. wax — for sculpting

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