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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: wax · branch · bark · tear · coach · rule · last · bulb

  1. The light ________________ burned out.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. I've got to change the light ________________.
  8. Have you met the new head ________________?
  9. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  17. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. last — final
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. wax — to grow
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. bulb — for light
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. bulb — of a plant
  10. last — to go on
  11. tear — from crying
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. bark — to shout
  14. rule — to rule out
  15. tear — from crying
  16. coach — pulled by horses
  17. rule — a law
  18. branch — a division
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. rule — government
  22. last — finally
  23. branch — of a bank
  24. tear — to rip

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