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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: dip · wax · net · clip · scale · bark · mug · hand

  1. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. Where did you ________________ them?
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  21. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  22. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. mug — a cup
  4. clip — for paper
  5. dip — a sauce
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. clip — to cut
  8. bark — to shout
  9. scale — size or range
  10. mug — to rob
  11. net — after costs
  12. dip — to sink
  13. net — for catching
  14. wax — to grow
  15. net — in sport
  16. scale — in music
  17. dip — to dunk
  18. hand — in cards
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. wax — for sculpting
  21. scale — for weighing
  22. mug — a face
  23. clip — a video
  24. hand — help

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