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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 116 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. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. I've got to change the light ________________.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  10. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  11. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. The light ________________ burned out.
  24. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. bulb — for light
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. fall — to drop
  5. field — farmland
  6. wax — to grow
  7. net — in sport
  8. file — a tool
  9. fall — the season
  10. craft — a handicraft
  11. craft — a skill
  12. net — after costs
  13. file — a line of people
  14. fall — to drop
  15. field — a subject
  16. file — a document
  17. net — for catching
  18. field — for sport
  19. craft — boats
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. bulb — of a plant
  22. cell — in biology
  23. bulb — for light
  24. wax — in the ear

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