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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: bulb · stand · prune · band · cold · nail · fork · wax

  1. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. The light ________________ burned out.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  8. I can't ________________ this cold.
  9. I've got to change the light ________________.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  13. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  17. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  18. The ________________ went through the wall.
  19. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  24. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. bulb — for light
  3. cold — an illness
  4. cold — not warm
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. fork — a garden tool
  8. stand — to bear
  9. bulb — for light
  10. prune — to trim
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. fork — to eat with
  13. bulb — of a plant
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. nail — on a finger
  17. stand — for spectators
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. stand — on your feet
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. fork — in a road
  22. band — a music group
  23. prune — to trim
  24. wax — to grow

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