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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. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. The light ________________ burned out.
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  18. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  19. We're on a ________________ here.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  22. I've got to change the light ________________.
  23. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. bulb — for light
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. last — final
  5. bulb — of a plant
  6. net — in sport
  7. bass — low music
  8. spring — the season
  9. spring — a coil
  10. roll — a list
  11. last — to go on
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. spring — of water
  15. wax — to grow
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. roll — a cake
  18. wax — in the ear
  19. roll — on a roll
  20. net — for catching
  21. wax — for sculpting
  22. bulb — for light
  23. bass — the fish
  24. net — after costs

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