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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.

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: mine · bat · chip · track · cabinet · kick · bark · wax

  1. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. What do you think of the new ________________?
  4. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  15. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  18. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  19. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. chip — in a computer
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. kick — in football
  10. mine — for digging
  11. track — a path
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. wax — to grow
  14. track — to keep track
  15. track — a song
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. chip — to eat
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. cabinet — a cupboard
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. kick — with a leg
  22. bark — to shout
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. chip — for betting

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