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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 was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  8. The light ________________ burned out.
  9. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. I've got to change the light ________________.
  12. The tickets are free of ________________.
  13. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  14. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  15. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  16. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. The King held a masked ________________.
  23. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  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. ball — a great time
  2. wax — to grow
  3. row — a line
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. bulb — of a plant
  6. degree — temperature
  7. charge — electricity
  8. bulb — for light
  9. ball — a round shape
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. bulb — for light
  12. charge — a price
  13. rule — government
  14. lash — a whip stroke
  15. lash — an eyelash
  16. lash — to lash out
  17. degree — an amount
  18. rule — a law
  19. row — to paddle
  20. rule — to rule out
  21. degree — from a university
  22. ball — a dance
  23. charge — in control
  24. wax — in the ear

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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