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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 120 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: tube · arm · wax · bark · board · spring · bulb · hand

  1. I've got to change the light ________________.
  2. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  6. My father caught me by the ________________.
  7. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. I'll be taking the ________________.
  15. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  23. The light ________________ burned out.
  24. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. board — to get on
  3. spring — the season
  4. spring — a coil
  5. arm — a part of something
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. board — a flat piece
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. tube — in a tire
  10. spring — of water
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. hand — help
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. tube — the underground
  15. tube — a container
  16. bark — to shout
  17. board — a committee
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. hand — in cards
  22. bulb — of a plant
  23. bulb — for light
  24. wax — to grow

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