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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. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  2. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  7. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  8. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  11. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. I've got to change the light ________________.
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. The light ________________ burned out.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — of a plant
  2. file — a line of people
  3. row — a line
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. deal — to handle
  7. craft — a handicraft
  8. wax — to grow
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. craft — a skill
  11. craft — boats
  12. stock — goods
  13. file — a tool
  14. file — a document
  15. bulb — for light
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. deal — an agreement
  18. wound — an injury
  19. wound — an injury
  20. bulb — for light
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. stock — shares
  23. row — to paddle
  24. deal — a big deal

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