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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.

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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: stick · bark · chip · wind · kid · wax · march · shower

  1. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  10. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  19. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  23. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. chip — for betting
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. bark — to shout
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. wind — moving air
  9. stick — to attach or keep to
  10. chip — to eat
  11. wind — moving air
  12. shower — to wash
  13. march — music
  14. kid — child
  15. wax — for sculpting
  16. march — the month
  17. shower — rain
  18. wax — to grow
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. chip — in a computer
  24. kid — to tease

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