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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 belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  6. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  7. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  8. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  9. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  14. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  15. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  16. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  23. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  24. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.

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

Answer key

  1. club — a group
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. kid — child
  5. bore — to tire
  6. bear — the animal
  7. club — for dancing
  8. bore — to drill
  9. bear — to put up with
  10. bark — to shout
  11. clip — to cut
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. kick — a thrill
  14. club — for golf
  15. bear — the animal
  16. kick — in football
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. clip — a video
  19. kid — to tease
  20. wax — for sculpting
  21. clip — for paper
  22. kick — with a leg
  23. wax — to grow
  24. bore — gave birth

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