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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. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  4. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  5. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  8. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  17. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  19. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  20. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  21. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  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 — of a tree
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. patient — calm and waiting
  4. kick — with a leg
  5. lash — an eyelash
  6. hand — in cards
  7. racket — a loud noise
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. hand — help
  11. lash — a whip stroke
  12. drill — a practice
  13. drill — army training
  14. wax — for sculpting
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. wax — to grow
  18. drill — the tool
  19. lash — to lash out
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. kick — in football
  22. bark — to shout
  23. patient — a sick person
  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