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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: net · hand · bark · wax · game · mark · last · bore

  1. That was a fun ________________.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  4. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  10. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. last — to go on
  3. mark — to pay attention
  4. mark — a grade
  5. net — in sport
  6. game — wild animals
  7. wax — to grow
  8. net — after costs
  9. bore — gave birth
  10. bore — to tire
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. last — finally
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. last — final
  17. mark — a trace
  18. hand — help
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. hand — in cards
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. bore — to drill
  23. net — for catching
  24. bark — to shout

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