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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
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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: current · bark · cold · wax · bulb · swing · date · pit

  1. David sat on the ________________.
  2. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. I've got to change the light ________________.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  11. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  12. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. The light ________________ burned out.
  15. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  16. Have you settled on a ________________?
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  22. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  23. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. pit — in a race
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. current — of water
  5. cold — not warm
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. swing — in golf
  8. bulb — for light
  9. bark — to shout
  10. current — electric
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. current — happening now
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. bulb — for light
  15. pit — a fruit stone
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. swing — music
  18. bulb — of a plant
  19. cold — an illness
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. date — the fruit
  22. wax — to grow
  23. pit — a hole
  24. cold — the Cold War

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