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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: mate · kick · stick · kid · row · wax · bark · ground

  1. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  11. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  12. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  13. Have you found your soul ________________?
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  16. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  17. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  18. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  19. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — the earth
  2. kid — to tease
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. bark — to shout
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. row — to paddle
  8. kid — child
  9. ground — crushed
  10. wax — for sculpting
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. mate — a friend
  13. mate — a partner
  14. wax — to grow
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. mate — to breed
  17. kick — in football
  18. kick — with a leg
  19. stick — to attach or keep to
  20. ground — a position
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. kick — a thrill
  23. row — a line
  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