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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: pop · content · wax · rule · cell · branch · bark · kid

  1. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. We're almost out of ________________.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  12. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  15. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  16. You don't need to ________________ round.
  17. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  24. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in biology
  2. kid — child
  3. rule — a law
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. pop — soda
  8. kid — to tease
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. branch — a division
  12. rule — government
  13. cell — a phone
  14. wax — for sculpting
  15. branch — of a tree
  16. pop — to visit
  17. pop — music
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. bark — to shout
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. content — the amount
  22. wax — to grow
  23. content — happy
  24. rule — to rule out

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