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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. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  2. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  5. I've got to change the light ________________.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  12. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  13. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  14. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  24. The light ________________ burned out.

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

Answer key

  1. face — part of the head
  2. bulb — of a plant
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. craft — a handicraft
  5. bulb — for light
  6. spring — the season
  7. object — an aim
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. spring — a coil
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. face — to confront
  12. craft — a skill
  13. object — a thing
  14. object — to protest
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. wax — to grow
  18. spring — of water
  19. bat — the animal
  20. wax — for sculpting
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. face — to point toward
  23. craft — boats
  24. bulb — for light

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