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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.

Words on the sheet
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: craft · bark · bulb · wax · pound · row · band · roll

  1. I've got to change the light ________________.
  2. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  3. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. The light ________________ burned out.
  6. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  7. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  8. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  9. We're on a ________________ here.
  10. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  20. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  21. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. craft — a skill
  3. pound — to hit hard
  4. row — a line
  5. bulb — for light
  6. craft — boats
  7. roll — a list
  8. roll — a cake
  9. roll — on a roll
  10. wax — for sculpting
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. band — a ring
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. bulb — of a plant
  15. band — a music group
  16. pound — a weight
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. bark — to shout
  19. craft — a handicraft
  20. wax — to grow
  21. pound — for dogs
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. row — to paddle

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