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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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  5. The light ________________ burned out.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. I've got to change the light ________________.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  23. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  24. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. net — in sport
  4. vault — a safe
  5. bulb — for light
  6. spring — the season
  7. season — of the year
  8. foot — a measure
  9. march — the month
  10. bulb — for light
  11. spring — a coil
  12. foot — the bottom
  13. wax — to grow
  14. season — in sport
  15. vault — an arched ceiling
  16. net — for catching
  17. march — the month
  18. spring — of water
  19. wax — in the ear
  20. net — after costs
  21. march — music
  22. bulb — of a plant
  23. foot — part of the body
  24. vault — in gymnastics

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