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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: shower · bark · bear · hand · kick · charge · wax · stock

  1. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  5. The tickets are free of ________________.
  6. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  13. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  22. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  23. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. stock — shares
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. kick — in football
  5. charge — a price
  6. kick — a thrill
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. wax — to grow
  10. kick — with a leg
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. bear — to put up with
  13. charge — in control
  14. shower — rain
  15. hand — help
  16. shower — to wash
  17. stock — goods
  18. bark — to shout
  19. bear — the animal
  20. hand — in cards
  21. stock — a soup base
  22. bear — the animal
  23. charge — electricity
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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