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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.

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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: branch · wax · swing · court · game · bulb · bark · kick

  1. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  2. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. The light ________________ burned out.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. I've got to change the light ________________.
  19. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  20. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  24. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. kick — in football
  3. swing — to play on
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. court — for sport
  6. branch — a division
  7. court — of a king
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. game — a match
  11. game — wild animals
  12. bulb — for light
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. kick — a thrill
  16. court — of law
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. bulb — for light
  19. branch — of a bank
  20. bulb — of a plant
  21. swing — in golf
  22. swing — music
  23. kick — with a leg
  24. bark — to shout

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