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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 120 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.

Words on the sheet
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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: spring · bark · game · net · spell · wake · chest · wax

  1. That was a fun ________________.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. game — wild animals
  3. chest — of your body
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. spell — a short time
  7. spring — a coil
  8. net — after costs
  9. spell — letters
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. wake — a trail
  13. spring — of water
  14. spell — magic
  15. chest — of your body
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. net — for catching
  18. bark — to shout
  19. spring — the season
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. chest — a box
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. net — in sport
  24. wax — to grow

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