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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: present · bark · content · rest · fall · wax · pass · kick

  1. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  4. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  18. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  19. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  20. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  21. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. fall — to drop
  3. kick — with a leg
  4. pass — a permit
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. pass — to succeed
  7. bark — to shout
  8. present — a gift
  9. content — happy
  10. rest — what's left
  11. wax — to grow
  12. fall — the season
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. content — the amount
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. present — there
  18. pass — to spend time
  19. fall — to drop
  20. rest — a break
  21. kick — in football
  22. present — the time now
  23. rest — what's left
  24. bark — of a tree

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