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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 120 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. The light ________________ burned out.
  3. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  9. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  10. My father caught me by the ________________.
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  13. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  14. I've got to change the light ________________.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  24. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — of a plant
  2. bulb — for light
  3. racket — a loud noise
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. stem — a stem cell
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. wax — to grow
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. bulb — for light
  15. degree — an amount
  16. mine — for digging
  17. arm — a part of something
  18. degree — temperature
  19. lie — to recline
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. degree — from a university
  23. stem — to come from
  24. wax — in the ear

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