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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 locked up in a ________________.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. The light ________________ burned out.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. I've got to change the light ________________.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in a prison
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. bulb — for light
  5. cell — a phone
  6. ground — crushed
  7. court — of a king
  8. bulb — for light
  9. march — music
  10. lash — an eyelash
  11. court — of law
  12. court — for sport
  13. lash — a whip stroke
  14. wind — moving air
  15. wind — moving air
  16. wax — to grow
  17. lash — to lash out
  18. cell — in biology
  19. ground — the earth
  20. march — the month
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. ground — a position
  23. march — the month
  24. bulb — of a plant

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