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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: patient · deal · bat · wax · tear · bark · branch · bulb

  1. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. The light ________________ burned out.
  5. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  11. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  19. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  20. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  21. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  22. I've got to change the light ________________.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  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. bat — for baseball
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. bulb — for light
  5. deal — an agreement
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. wax — to grow
  10. deal — a big deal
  11. deal — to handle
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. bark — to shout
  14. tear — from crying
  15. patient — calm and waiting
  16. tear — from crying
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. bulb — of a plant
  19. branch — a division
  20. branch — of a bank
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. bulb — for light
  23. bat — the animal
  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