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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. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  8. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  9. The light ________________ burned out.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. I've got to change the light ________________.
  12. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  13. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  14. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. That was ________________ to happen.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  22. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. object — an aim
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. scale — size or range
  6. wax — to grow
  7. object — to protest
  8. bulb — of a plant
  9. bulb — for light
  10. court — of a king
  11. bulb — for light
  12. object — a thing
  13. bound — obliged
  14. bound — tied together
  15. court — for sport
  16. scale — in music
  17. bound — certain
  18. rash — a series
  19. hand — help
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. wax — for sculpting
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. hand — in cards
  24. court — of law

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