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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 120 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: wax · race · cell · nail · trunk · spell · kid · bark

  1. He was locked up in a ________________.
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  9. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. The ________________ went through the wall.
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in a prison
  2. cell — in biology
  3. race — the arms race
  4. spell — letters
  5. cell — a phone
  6. race — humankind
  7. race — a contest
  8. trunk — of an elephant
  9. nail — on a finger
  10. kid — child
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. wax — to grow
  15. bark — to shout
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. kid — to tease
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. spell — a short time
  23. spell — magic
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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