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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: chest · nail · wax · race · squash · lash · wind · bark

  1. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  2. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  8. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. The ________________ went through the wall.
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  22. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — to shout
  2. lash — to lash out
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. race — a contest
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. wind — moving air
  7. lash — a whip stroke
  8. nail — on a finger
  9. chest — of your body
  10. lash — an eyelash
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. squash — to crush
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. race — humankind
  16. wax — to grow
  17. race — the arms race
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. squash — the sport
  20. chest — of your body
  21. wax — for sculpting
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. chest — a box
  24. wind — moving air

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