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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 museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. My father caught me by the ________________.
  9. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  10. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  11. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  12. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. I'll be taking the ________________.
  16. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. wax — to grow
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. vault — in gymnastics
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. tube — a container
  10. wax — in the ear
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. vault — a safe
  13. bark — to shout
  14. shower — rain
  15. tube — the underground
  16. tube — in a tire
  17. kid — child
  18. chair — to sit on
  19. chair — a leader
  20. vault — an arched ceiling
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. arm — a part of something
  23. shower — to wash
  24. kid — to tease

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