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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: wax · current · bark · deal · season · row · hand · bass

  1. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  9. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  16. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. Did you ________________ the meat?
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  23. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  24. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. row — a line
  3. current — of water
  4. bark — to shout
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. deal — a big deal
  7. wax — to grow
  8. season — of the year
  9. bass — the fish
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. deal — an agreement
  14. hand — in cards
  15. bass — low music
  16. bass — the instrument
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. row — to paddle
  19. season — to add flavour
  20. season — in sport
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. current — happening now
  23. current — electric
  24. deal — to handle

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