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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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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. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. We're on a ________________ here.
  7. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  8. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  22. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  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. kid — child
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. wax — to grow
  4. race — the arms race
  5. race — humankind
  6. roll — on a roll
  7. mark — a trace
  8. roll — a list
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. roll — a cake
  12. rash — a series
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. rash — hasty
  18. race — a contest
  19. mark — to pay attention
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. mark — a grade
  22. snap — to click
  23. kid — to tease
  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