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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: kid · wax · patient · bound · snap · calf · bark · fine

  1. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. That was ________________ to happen.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  18. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  19. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  20. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  21. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  22. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  23. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  24. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — a penalty
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. snap — to click
  7. wax — to grow
  8. kid — child
  9. bound — tied together
  10. bark — to shout
  11. patient — calm and waiting
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. kid — to tease
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. bound — certain
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. bound — obliged
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. fine — all right
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. calf — of the leg
  24. fine — high quality

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