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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: wind · wax · swing · bark · plane · branch · scale · bowl

  1. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  4. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  9. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  13. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  18. The ________________ took off on time.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. wind — moving air
  3. scale — size or range
  4. bowl — to roll
  5. swing — to play on
  6. swing — in golf
  7. scale — in music
  8. branch — a division
  9. plane — a tool
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. plane — in geometry
  13. bowl — a football final
  14. wind — moving air
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. bowl — a dish
  18. plane — an aircraft
  19. bark — to shout
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. branch — of a bank
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. wax — to grow
  24. swing — 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