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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 · hand · chair · craft · arm · kick · mark · bark

  1. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  5. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  6. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  11. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  15. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. My father caught me by the ________________.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. hand — help
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. arm — a part of something
  5. craft — a skill
  6. mark — to pay attention
  7. wax — to grow
  8. kick — with a leg
  9. hand — in cards
  10. craft — boats
  11. mark — a trace
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. mark — a grade
  15. craft — a handicraft
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. kick — in football
  18. bark — to shout
  19. chair — a leader
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. kick — a thrill
  23. chair — to sit on
  24. chair — a professorship

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