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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: shower · can · ball · bark · rule · face · bulb · wax

  1. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  5. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. The King held a masked ________________.
  8. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  9. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  10. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  11. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  12. The light ________________ burned out.
  13. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  14. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  15. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  16. I've got to change the light ________________.
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  20. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. shower — to wash
  4. can — to be able to
  5. can — a tin
  6. face — to point toward
  7. ball — a dance
  8. wax — to grow
  9. rule — to rule out
  10. wax — for sculpting
  11. ball — a round shape
  12. bulb — for light
  13. can — a tin
  14. rule — a law
  15. bulb — of a plant
  16. bulb — for light
  17. face — part of the head
  18. bark — to shout
  19. face — to confront
  20. ball — a great time
  21. shower — rain
  22. rule — government
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. wax — in the ear

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