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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
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: trunk · craft · saw · bulb · bark · wax · file · wind

  1. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  2. He works in a ________________ mill.
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. I've got to change the light ________________.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. The light ________________ burned out.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  20. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  23. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. saw — the tool
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. bulb — for light
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. bulb — for light
  7. wind — moving air
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. file — a tool
  10. craft — a skill
  11. wind — moving air
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. bark — to shout
  14. craft — boats
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. file — a document
  17. saw — the tool
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. saw — past of 'see'
  20. craft — a handicraft
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. bulb — of a plant
  23. wax — to grow
  24. file — a line of people

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