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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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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: pop · wound · tube · wax · wind · ball · band · bulb

  1. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. We're almost out of ________________.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. I've got to change the light ________________.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  9. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  10. The light ________________ burned out.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  13. The King held a masked ________________.
  14. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. You don't need to ________________ round.
  22. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. pop — soda
  3. wound — an injury
  4. bulb — for light
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. tube — the underground
  7. wax — to grow
  8. bulb — of a plant
  9. tube — a container
  10. bulb — for light
  11. band — a music group
  12. pop — music
  13. ball — a dance
  14. tube — in a tire
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. wound — an injury
  17. wind — moving air
  18. ball — a round shape
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. band — a ring
  21. pop — to visit
  22. ball — a great time
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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