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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: bark · lean · trunk · wax · foot · chest · sharp · spell

  1. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  5. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  6. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  10. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  17. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  24. How do you ________________ your surname?

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. spell — magic
  4. foot — part of the body
  5. trunk — of an elephant
  6. foot — a measure
  7. bark — to shout
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. foot — the bottom
  10. lean — thin
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. spell — a short time
  14. trunk — of a car
  15. sharp — clever
  16. lean — to rest against
  17. lean — to bend
  18. chest — of your body
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. chest — a box
  22. chest — of your body
  23. wax — to grow
  24. spell — letters

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