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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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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: fan · content · bark · wax · land · dip · charge · lash

  1. The tickets are free of ________________.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  11. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  12. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  15. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  19. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  24. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — a price
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. content — happy
  6. charge — electricity
  7. land — a country
  8. charge — in control
  9. wax — to grow
  10. wax — for sculpting
  11. lash — an eyelash
  12. dip — a sauce
  13. content — the amount
  14. fan — to cool the air
  15. lash — to lash out
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. lash — a whip stroke
  20. land — ground
  21. land — to come down
  22. bark — to shout
  23. dip — to sink
  24. dip — to dunk

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