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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: tear · bark · chest · wax · rule · lash

  1. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  13. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. lash — a whip stroke
  3. wax — to grow
  4. rule — a law
  5. chest — of your body
  6. tear — from crying
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. tear — to rip
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. lash — an eyelash
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. rule — to rule out
  13. lash — to lash out
  14. bark — to shout
  15. rule — government
  16. tear — from crying
  17. chest — a box
  18. wax — in the ear

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