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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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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: date · bark · wax · chest · lean · squash · rule · chip

  1. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  8. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  9. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  15. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  18. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  19. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  20. Have you settled on a ________________?
  21. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  22. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  23. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. wax — to grow
  4. squash — to crush
  5. chest — a box
  6. chest — of your body
  7. date — the fruit
  8. rule — government
  9. rule — to rule out
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. bark — to shout
  12. rule — a law
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. chip — in a computer
  15. lean — to rest against
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. wax — for sculpting
  18. lean — to bend
  19. chip — for betting
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. chip — to eat
  22. squash — the sport
  23. lean — thin
  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