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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: wax · file · wound · wind · bulb · kid · tear · calf

  1. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. I've got to change the light ________________.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  17. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  20. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. The light ________________ burned out.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. wound — an injury
  3. tear — from crying
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. bulb — of a plant
  8. kid — to tease
  9. tear — to rip
  10. wound — an injury
  11. kid — child
  12. bulb — for light
  13. tear — from crying
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. file — a line of people
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. wax — for sculpting
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. calf — of the leg
  20. wax — to grow
  21. wind — moving air
  22. bulb — for light
  23. file — a tool
  24. file — a document

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