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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. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  2. The light ________________ burned out.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. Have you found your soul ________________?
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. I've got to change the light ________________.
  17. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  18. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  19. We're on a ________________ here.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.

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

Answer key

  1. bank — for money
  2. bulb — for light
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. mate — a friend
  5. mine — for digging
  6. roll — a cake
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. bank — of a river
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. field — for sport
  11. wind — moving air
  12. bulb — of a plant
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. mate — a partner
  15. field — farmland
  16. bulb — for light
  17. wax — to grow
  18. bank — for money
  19. roll — on a roll
  20. wind — moving air
  21. field — a subject
  22. roll — a list
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. mate — to breed

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