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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. The light ________________ burned out.
  2. I've got to change the light ________________.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  9. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  10. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  11. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  14. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  15. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  18. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  19. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  22. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  23. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  24. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. bulb — for light
  3. cold — an illness
  4. pound — a weight
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. chip — for betting
  9. chip — in a computer
  10. mark — a grade
  11. mark — a trace
  12. bat — the animal
  13. pound — for dogs
  14. chip — to eat
  15. bore — to drill
  16. cold — not warm
  17. bulb — of a plant
  18. bore — gave birth
  19. mark — to pay attention
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. bore — to tire
  22. wax — for sculpting
  23. wax — to grow
  24. pound — to hit hard

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