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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: wax · bark · bore · rash · safe · kid · clip · cell

  1. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  9. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. Don't do anything ________________.
  17. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  21. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. cell — a phone
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. cell — in biology
  5. bore — to drill
  6. clip — a video
  7. wax — to grow
  8. safe — out of danger
  9. safe — out of danger
  10. kid — to tease
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. safe — a strongbox
  13. rash — a series
  14. bark — to shout
  15. clip — to cut
  16. rash — hasty
  17. bore — gave birth
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. kid — child
  20. wax — for sculpting
  21. bore — to tire
  22. clip — for paper
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. cell — in a prison

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