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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. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  9. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. I'll be taking the ________________.
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  21. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  22. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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. bark — to shout
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. shower — to wash
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. ground — the earth
  8. trunk — of a tree
  9. branch — of a tree
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. tube — the underground
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. ground — a position
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. object — an aim
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. branch — a division
  18. tube — a container
  19. ground — crushed
  20. object — to protest
  21. branch — of a bank
  22. object — a thing
  23. shower — rain
  24. wax — to grow

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