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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. I've got to change the light ________________.
  2. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  12. The light ________________ burned out.
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. That was ________________ to happen.
  23. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  24. He had ________________ pain while walking.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. bound — obliged
  3. wax — to grow
  4. chest — a box
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. degree — temperature
  7. clip — a video
  8. clip — to cut
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. chest — of your body
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. bulb — for light
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. degree — an amount
  15. bulb — of a plant
  16. chest — of your body
  17. bound — tied together
  18. clip — for paper
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. sharp — clever
  21. degree — from a university
  22. bound — certain
  23. sharp — with an edge
  24. calf — of the leg

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