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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 116 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: bulb · pop · kid · hand · spell · wind · stick · wax

  1. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. The light ________________ burned out.
  7. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. We're almost out of ________________.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. I've got to change the light ________________.
  17. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  18. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  19. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  23. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. spell — letters
  3. hand — help
  4. kid — to tease
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. bulb — for light
  7. bulb — of a plant
  8. spell — magic
  9. hand — in cards
  10. kid — child
  11. pop — to visit
  12. wax — to grow
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. pop — soda
  15. spell — a short time
  16. bulb — for light
  17. wax — for sculpting
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. stick — to attach or keep to
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. pop — music
  24. wind — moving air

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