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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: wax · bark · foot · trunk · degree · rock · race · content

  1. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  19. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. I have a corn on my right ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. content — happy
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. foot — a measure
  7. degree — from a university
  8. bark — to shout
  9. race — humankind
  10. foot — the bottom
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. content — the amount
  14. race — the arms race
  15. rock — to move gently
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. wax — to grow
  19. rock — music
  20. degree — temperature
  21. rock — a stone
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. degree — an amount
  24. foot — part of the body

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