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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  2. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — a weight
  2. lash — a whip stroke
  3. content — happy
  4. bark — to shout
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. wax — to grow
  8. lash — to lash out
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. pound — for dogs
  11. spell — letters
  12. pound — to hit hard
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. lash — an eyelash
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. content — the amount
  17. spell — a short time
  18. spell — magic

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