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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. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  2. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  3. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  7. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  8. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  22. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  23. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  24. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — to shout
  2. bass — the fish
  3. kick — with a leg
  4. stem — to come from
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. bass — low music
  7. rule — government
  8. rule — a law
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. band — a music group
  14. band — a ring
  15. kid — child
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. rule — to rule out
  20. kid — to tease
  21. kick — in football
  22. wax — to grow
  23. wax — for sculpting
  24. kick — a thrill

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