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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. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. I've got to change the light ________________.
  9. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  12. The light ________________ burned out.
  13. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  14. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  17. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  18. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  24. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — of a plant
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. present — a gift
  5. kid — child
  6. present — there
  7. bat — the animal
  8. bulb — for light
  9. pound — a weight
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. rule — government
  12. bulb — for light
  13. rule — a law
  14. pound — to hit hard
  15. cell — in biology
  16. pound — for dogs
  17. wax — for sculpting
  18. wax — in the ear
  19. cell — a phone
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. present — the time now
  22. kid — to tease
  23. rule — to rule out
  24. wax — to grow

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