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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. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  17. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. bark — to shout
  3. lash — an eyelash
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. branch — a division
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. lash — to lash out
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. degree — temperature
  12. lash — a whip stroke
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. band — a music group
  16. stick — to attach or keep to
  17. wax — for sculpting
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. degree — from a university
  20. kid — to tease
  21. wax — to grow
  22. degree — an amount
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. kid — child

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