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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. The water is too ________________.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  6. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  7. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  10. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  11. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  16. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  17. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. I've got to change the light ________________.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. The light ________________ burned out.
  22. My mare is ________________ in color.
  23. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  24. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. last — final
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. pitch — completely
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. bulb — of a plant
  8. cold — an illness
  9. pitch — a sports field
  10. bay — to keep at bay
  11. pitch — a sales talk
  12. wax — to grow
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. lie — to recline
  16. bear — the animal
  17. bear — to put up with
  18. last — finally
  19. bulb — for light
  20. last — to go on
  21. bulb — for light
  22. bay — a horse colour
  23. bay — a part of the sea
  24. bear — the animal

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