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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  4. He works in a ________________ mill.
  5. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  11. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  12. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  13. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  14. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. The light ________________ burned out.
  20. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  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. foot — a measure
  2. last — final
  3. bulb — of a plant
  4. saw — the tool
  5. foot — part of the body
  6. last — finally
  7. rule — to rule out
  8. cold — an illness
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. rule — a law
  11. bowl — a dish
  12. saw — past of 'see'
  13. foot — the bottom
  14. rule — government
  15. last — to go on
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. saw — the tool
  18. cold — not warm
  19. bulb — for light
  20. bowl — a football final
  21. wax — to grow
  22. bowl — to roll
  23. cold — the Cold War
  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