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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. She's very handy with a ________________.
  2. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  8. He works in a ________________ mill.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. I've got to change the light ________________.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  14. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. I can't ________________ this cold.
  19. The light ________________ burned out.
  20. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  21. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. bulb — of a plant
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. saw — past of 'see'
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. game — wild animals
  7. object — a thing
  8. saw — the tool
  9. net — after costs
  10. bulb — for light
  11. game — a match
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. object — to protest
  14. stand — on your feet
  15. net — for catching
  16. row — a line
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. stand — to bear
  19. bulb — for light
  20. object — an aim
  21. stand — for spectators
  22. row — to paddle
  23. net — in sport
  24. wax — to grow

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