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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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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: firm · band · race · patient · content · wax · court · bark

  1. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  8. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  9. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. race — a contest
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. band — a ring
  5. race — the arms race
  6. band — a music group
  7. firm — decided
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. firm — steady
  10. court — for sport
  11. content — the amount
  12. firm — a company
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. bark — to shout
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. court — of law
  17. wax — to grow
  18. court — of a king
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. patient — calm and waiting
  22. race — humankind
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. content — happy

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