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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. The light ________________ burned out.
  2. I've got to change the light ________________.
  3. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  4. It's one o'clock ________________.
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  8. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  18. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  23. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  24. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. bulb — for light
  3. jam — to spread on bread
  4. sharp — exactly
  5. stock — shares
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. calf — of the leg
  8. branch — a division
  9. wax — to grow
  10. cold — an illness
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. jam — in traffic
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. stock — goods
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. stock — a soup base
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. sharp — clever
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. cold — not warm
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. jam — a tight spot
  24. bulb — of a plant

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