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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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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: wind · kick · wax · pop · bark · file · bulb · snap

  1. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. I've got to change the light ________________.
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  19. The light ________________ burned out.
  20. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  21. We're almost out of ________________.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. You don't need to ________________ round.
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. bark — to shout
  4. bulb — for light
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. wind — moving air
  8. bulb — of a plant
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. kick — in football
  11. file — a tool
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. snap — to click
  14. wind — moving air
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. kick — with a leg
  17. file — a line of people
  18. kick — a thrill
  19. bulb — for light
  20. wax — to grow
  21. pop — soda
  22. file — a document
  23. pop — to visit
  24. pop — music

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