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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: lie · bark · bass · bear · stock · wax · content · tube

  1. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  2. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  3. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  7. I'll be taking the ________________.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  15. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  16. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  20. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  23. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  24. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. bass — the fish
  3. bear — to put up with
  4. wax — to grow
  5. bark — to shout
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. tube — the underground
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. bear — the animal
  10. stock — goods
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. stock — shares
  14. bass — the instrument
  15. tube — in a tire
  16. bass — low music
  17. content — happy
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. bear — the animal
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. content — the amount
  22. lie — to recline
  23. stock — a soup base
  24. tube — a container

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