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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 120 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 had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  10. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  13. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  23. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  24. He had ________________ pain while walking.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. kid — to tease
  4. wax — to grow
  5. rest — what's left
  6. chest — of your body
  7. lean — thin
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. rest — what's left
  11. chest — of your body
  12. lean — to bend
  13. lean — to rest against
  14. wake — a trail
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. wake — before a funeral
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. rest — a break
  20. bark — to shout
  21. chest — a box
  22. wax — in the ear
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. calf — of the leg

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