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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: perch · wax · content · bear · ground · tube · bark · ball

  1. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. The King held a masked ________________.
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  7. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  13. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  18. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  19. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  20. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. ground — crushed
  3. wax — to grow
  4. ball — a dance
  5. tube — the underground
  6. bear — the animal
  7. tube — a container
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. ball — a great time
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. ground — the earth
  12. perch — the fish
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. content — happy
  17. ball — a round shape
  18. bear — the animal
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. bear — to put up with
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. ground — a position
  23. bark — to shout
  24. tube — in a tire

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