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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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Word bank
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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: tube · sharp · saw · wax · race · stock · bark · leaves

  1. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. She's very handy with a ________________.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  9. He works in a ________________ mill.
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  12. I'll be taking the ________________.
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  15. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  16. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. The ________________ market has crashed.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. race — a contest
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. saw — the tool
  7. race — the arms race
  8. saw — past of 'see'
  9. saw — the tool
  10. tube — a container
  11. leaves — lets stay
  12. tube — the underground
  13. sharp — clever
  14. tube — in a tire
  15. leaves — of a tree
  16. leaves — to go away
  17. bark — to shout
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. stock — goods
  21. wax — to grow
  22. stock — a soup base
  23. race — humankind
  24. stock — shares

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