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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 116 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. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. You don't need to ________________ round.
  4. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  14. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  24. We're almost out of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. hand — help
  3. pop — to visit
  4. dip — to dunk
  5. file — a line of people
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. file — a tool
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. band — a ring
  13. dip — a sauce
  14. trunk — of an elephant
  15. file — a document
  16. dip — to sink
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. pop — music
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. bark — to shout
  22. band — a music group
  23. wax — to grow
  24. pop — soda

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