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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: bark · prune · hand · saw · bass · calf · wax · bat

  1. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. She's very handy with a ________________.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  15. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  23. He works in a ________________ mill.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. bat — the animal
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. bass — low music
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. hand — in cards
  7. bass — the fish
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. saw — the tool
  10. hand — help
  11. prune — to trim
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. wax — for sculpting
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. prune — to trim
  17. calf — of the leg
  18. bark — to shout
  19. bass — the instrument
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. wax — to grow
  23. saw — the tool
  24. bark — of a tree

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