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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. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  5. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  6. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  7. I've got to change the light ________________.
  8. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  9. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  10. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  13. Have you found your soul ________________?
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. The light ________________ burned out.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  24. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — of a plant
  2. current — of water
  3. prune — to trim
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. current — electric
  6. mate — to breed
  7. bulb — for light
  8. perch — the fish
  9. scale — for weighing
  10. current — happening now
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. mate — a friend
  13. mate — a partner
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. wax — to grow
  16. bulb — for light
  17. kid — to tease
  18. scale — in music
  19. wax — in the ear
  20. kid — child
  21. scale — size or range
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. prune — to trim
  24. perch — for a bird

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