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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. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. That must've been a ________________.
  3. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  12. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  15. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  16. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  17. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  20. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  21. I'll be taking the ________________.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  24. The old man leaned on his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. rush — a thrill
  3. rush — hurry
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. lash — to lash out
  6. court — of a king
  7. rush — to hurry
  8. bark — to shout
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. court — for sport
  11. lash — an eyelash
  12. tube — in a tire
  13. wax — to grow
  14. wax — for sculpting
  15. staff — employees
  16. mark — a grade
  17. mark — a trace
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. tube — a container
  20. staff — employees
  21. tube — the underground
  22. court — of law
  23. lash — a whip stroke
  24. staff — a stick

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