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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. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. Have you settled on a ________________?
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. I'll be taking the ________________.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  23. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  24. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. chest — a box
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. chest — of your body
  6. stock — goods
  7. wax — to grow
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. date — the fruit
  12. stock — shares
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. chair — a leader
  18. chair — to sit on
  19. bat — the animal
  20. tube — the underground
  21. bark — to shout
  22. tube — a container
  23. tube — in a tire
  24. wax — for sculpting

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