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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: squash · deal · roll · bulb · hand · bark · land · wax

  1. I've got to change the light ________________.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  11. We're on a ________________ here.
  12. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. The light ________________ burned out.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. hand — help
  3. squash — to crush
  4. deal — to handle
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. deal — a big deal
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. land — to come down
  9. wax — to grow
  10. deal — an agreement
  11. roll — on a roll
  12. squash — the sport
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. land — a country
  15. roll — a list
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. roll — a cake
  18. land — ground
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. bulb — of a plant
  21. hand — in cards
  22. squash — the vegetable
  23. bark — to shout
  24. bulb — for light

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