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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: wax · hand · bark · race · cell · mouse · snap · foot

  1. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  20. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. hand — in cards
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. hand — help
  8. snap — to click
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. bark — to shout
  11. foot — a measure
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. wax — to grow
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. foot — the bottom
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. foot — part of the body
  18. race — the arms race
  19. mouse — for a computer
  20. mouse — the animal
  21. cell — a phone
  22. cell — in biology
  23. race — humankind
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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