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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. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  9. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  12. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  13. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  14. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  21. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  22. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. calf — of the leg
  4. chest — of your body
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. wax — to grow
  7. degree — from a university
  8. face — to point toward
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. chest — of your body
  11. staff — employees
  12. face — to confront
  13. staff — employees
  14. lash — a whip stroke
  15. bark — to shout
  16. degree — an amount
  17. lash — to lash out
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. degree — temperature
  20. wax — for sculpting
  21. lash — an eyelash
  22. staff — a stick
  23. face — part of the head
  24. chest — a box

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