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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 116 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 water is too ________________.
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  5. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  8. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  9. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  10. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  11. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. The light ________________ burned out.
  18. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. I've got to change the light ________________.
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  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. cold — not warm
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. band — a music group
  4. lean — to rest against
  5. lean — to bend
  6. cold — an illness
  7. trunk — of a tree
  8. vault — an arched ceiling
  9. vault — in gymnastics
  10. trunk — of an elephant
  11. lean — thin
  12. wax — to grow
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. vault — a safe
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. bulb — for light
  18. wax — in the ear
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. bulb — for light
  21. cell — a phone
  22. cell — in biology
  23. band — a ring
  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