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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. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. I've got to change the light ________________.
  4. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. Did you ________________ the meat?
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  10. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  17. The light ________________ burned out.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. season — in sport
  2. kid — child
  3. bulb — for light
  4. bulb — of a plant
  5. last — finally
  6. season — to add flavour
  7. prune — to trim
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. wax — for sculpting
  11. season — of the year
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. kid — to tease
  14. mine — for digging
  15. prune — to trim
  16. fan — to cool the air
  17. bulb — for light
  18. last — final
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. last — to go on
  23. wax — to grow
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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