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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: cell · arm · hand · trunk · bark · wax · kick · tear

  1. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  6. My father caught me by the ________________.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  23. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. wax — to grow
  3. kick — with a leg
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. kick — in football
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. tear — from crying
  8. cell — in biology
  9. trunk — of a tree
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. hand — help
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. kick — a thrill
  14. cell — a phone
  15. tear — to rip
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. arm — a part of something
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. bark — to shout
  22. trunk — of an elephant
  23. wax — for sculpting
  24. tear — from crying

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