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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. I've got to change the light ________________.
  2. He works in a ________________ mill.
  3. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  4. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  9. She's very handy with a ________________.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  20. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  21. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  22. The light ________________ burned out.
  23. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  24. The ________________ took off on time.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. saw — the tool
  3. plane — in geometry
  4. bulb — of a plant
  5. wax — to grow
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. root — of a plant
  9. saw — the tool
  10. file — a tool
  11. root — the cause
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. track — a path
  14. file — a document
  15. root — of a word
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. track — to keep track
  18. file — a line of people
  19. saw — past of 'see'
  20. plane — a tool
  21. trunk — of an elephant
  22. bulb — for light
  23. track — a song
  24. plane — an aircraft

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