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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: content · swing · saw · wax · tube · fan · mine · bark

  1. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. I'll be taking the ________________.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  12. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. David sat on the ________________.
  15. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  20. He works in a ________________ mill.
  21. She's very handy with a ________________.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — a container
  2. bark — to shout
  3. tube — the underground
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. wax — to grow
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. mine — for digging
  11. tube — in a tire
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. swing — in golf
  14. swing — to play on
  15. saw — past of 'see'
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. content — happy
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. fan — to cool the air
  20. saw — the tool
  21. saw — the tool
  22. content — the amount
  23. swing — music
  24. bark — of a tree

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