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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
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: ball · chair · straw · stand · plane · wax · kick · bark

  1. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. The ________________ took off on time.
  7. I can't ________________ this cold.
  8. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  14. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. The King held a masked ________________.
  17. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  18. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  24. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. chair — a leader
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. plane — an aircraft
  7. stand — to bear
  8. ball — a round shape
  9. bark — to shout
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. stand — on your feet
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. kick — a thrill
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. wax — to grow
  16. ball — a dance
  17. plane — in geometry
  18. plane — a tool
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. ball — a great time
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. stand — for spectators
  24. kick — in football

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