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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: kid · kick · squash · capital · wax · bark · wind · can

  1. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  7. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  8. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  15. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  16. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. wind — moving air
  4. kid — to tease
  5. squash — the sport
  6. kick — a thrill
  7. kick — in football
  8. can — a tin
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. capital — money
  11. can — a tin
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. wax — to grow
  14. can — to be able to
  15. kick — with a leg
  16. squash — to crush
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. capital — a city
  20. bark — to shout
  21. wind — moving air
  22. wax — in the ear
  23. wind — to turn a key
  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