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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: plane · hand · ball · tube · wax · straw · bark · content

  1. The King held a masked ________________.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  6. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. The ________________ took off on time.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. I'll be taking the ________________.
  19. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a dance
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. ball — a round shape
  6. tube — a container
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. bark — to shout
  9. plane — a tool
  10. content — the amount
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. plane — an aircraft
  15. content — happy
  16. plane — in geometry
  17. hand — help
  18. tube — the underground
  19. ball — a great time
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. wax — to grow
  22. tube — in a tire
  23. hand — in cards
  24. wax — in the ear

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