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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 moon will ________________ and wane.
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. The light ________________ burned out.
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. I've got to change the light ________________.
  15. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  19. He works in a ________________ mill.
  20. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  21. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  22. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  23. This piece is in a major ________________.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. bulb — for light
  4. row — to paddle
  5. cold — not warm
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. row — a line
  9. saw — past of 'see'
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. season — in sport
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. cold — an illness
  14. bulb — for light
  15. season — of the year
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. saw — the tool
  18. bulb — of a plant
  19. saw — the tool
  20. racket — a loud noise
  21. key — for a lock
  22. key — the most important part
  23. key — in music
  24. row — a quarrel

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