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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 116 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 · tear · file · plane · land · dip · kick · wax

  1. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  2. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  3. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  13. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  14. The ________________ took off on time.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  23. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a line of people
  2. dip — to sink
  3. kick — in football
  4. file — a document
  5. tear — to rip
  6. bark — to shout
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. dip — to dunk
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. plane — in geometry
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. dip — a sauce
  13. kick — with a leg
  14. plane — an aircraft
  15. file — a tool
  16. land — to come down
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. wax — to grow
  19. tear — from crying
  20. land — ground
  21. tear — from crying
  22. wax — in the ear
  23. plane — a tool
  24. land — a country

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