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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. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  4. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  5. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  8. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  9. I've got to change the light ________________.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  12. The light ________________ burned out.
  13. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  17. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. What do you think of the new ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. wax — to grow
  3. craft — a skill
  4. pass — to succeed
  5. bulb — of a plant
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. cabinet — a cupboard
  8. craft — a handicraft
  9. bulb — for light
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. bulb — for light
  13. craft — boats
  14. mine — for digging
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. pass — a permit
  17. wax — for sculpting
  18. shower — to wash
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. pass — to spend time
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. bat — the animal
  23. shower — rain
  24. cabinet — ministers

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