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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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468
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 · pound · wax · bat · object · wound · band · bear

  1. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  11. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  15. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  24. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. band — a music group
  4. band — a ring
  5. bear — the animal
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. object — an aim
  8. wound — an injury
  9. wax — to grow
  10. object — to protest
  11. pound — for dogs
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. wound — an injury
  14. bear — the animal
  15. object — a thing
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. bark — to shout
  18. pound — to hit hard
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. pound — a weight
  24. bear — to put up with

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