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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.

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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: last · bulb · bark · wax · season · wind · nail · bass

  1. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. The light ________________ burned out.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. The ________________ went through the wall.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  21. Did you ________________ the meat?
  22. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  23. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  24. I've got to change the light ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — in sport
  2. wind — moving air
  3. last — to go on
  4. bulb — for light
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. wax — to grow
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. nail — on a finger
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. bark — to shout
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. last — finally
  16. last — final
  17. bass — the fish
  18. wind — moving air
  19. season — of the year
  20. bass — low music
  21. season — to add flavour
  22. bass — the instrument
  23. bulb — of a plant
  24. bulb — for light

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