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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. The light ________________ burned out.
  2. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. I've got to change the light ________________.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. We're almost out of ________________.
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  17. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  21. The ________________ went through the wall.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. You don't need to ________________ round.
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. nail — on a finger
  3. cell — a phone
  4. spring — a coil
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. bulb — for light
  9. cell — in biology
  10. wake — a trail
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. field — farmland
  13. pop — soda
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. field — a subject
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. bulb — of a plant
  18. field — for sport
  19. spring — of water
  20. wax — to grow
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. spring — the season
  23. pop — to visit
  24. pop — music

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