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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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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: ruler · net · can · rest · land · kid · wax · bark

  1. When are we going to ________________?
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  6. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  7. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  10. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  16. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. net — after costs
  3. rest — what's left
  4. land — a country
  5. can — a tin
  6. can — a tin
  7. rest — what's left
  8. net — in sport
  9. rest — a break
  10. wax — in the ear
  11. kid — to tease
  12. ruler — for measuring
  13. bark — to shout
  14. land — ground
  15. can — to be able to
  16. ruler — a monarch
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. kid — child
  19. wax — to grow
  20. net — for catching
  21. wax — for sculpting
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. ruler — for measuring

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