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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.

Make a worksheet

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
468
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 · pitcher · chest · bark · game · lie · jam · race

  1. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  15. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  16. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. lie — to recline
  7. game — a match
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. race — a contest
  10. game — wild animals
  11. bark — to shout
  12. wax — to grow
  13. race — the arms race
  14. jam — in traffic
  15. jam — a tight spot
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. chest — of your body
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. chest — a box
  20. jam — to spread on bread
  21. race — humankind
  22. chest — of your body
  23. lie — an untruth
  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