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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: bore · wax · pop · field · bark · plane · chair · mate

  1. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  4. We're almost out of ________________.
  5. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. You don't need to ________________ round.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. The ________________ took off on time.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  14. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  15. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  16. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  19. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  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. mate — to breed
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. pop — music
  4. pop — soda
  5. plane — in geometry
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. mate — a partner
  8. pop — to visit
  9. wax — to grow
  10. plane — an aircraft
  11. field — a subject
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. plane — a tool
  14. bore — to tire
  15. mate — a friend
  16. bore — to drill
  17. field — farmland
  18. chair — to sit on
  19. bore — gave birth
  20. field — for sport
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. chair — a leader
  23. bark — to shout
  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