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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.

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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. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  7. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  8. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  13. I'll be taking the ________________.
  14. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  19. Have you found your soul ________________?
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  22. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. wax — to grow
  3. content — the amount
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. club — for dancing
  7. tube — a container
  8. club — for golf
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. tube — in a tire
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. deal — an agreement
  13. tube — the underground
  14. deal — a big deal
  15. content — happy
  16. club — a group
  17. kid — to tease
  18. deal — to handle
  19. mate — a partner
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. mate — a friend
  22. mate — to breed
  23. bark — to shout
  24. bark — of a tree

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