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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. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  3. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  6. The light ________________ burned out.
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. We're on a ________________ here.
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  13. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  17. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  18. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  19. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. I've got to change the light ________________.
  22. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — of a plant
  2. roll — a cake
  3. scale — for weighing
  4. file — a tool
  5. kick — in football
  6. bulb — for light
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. scale — size or range
  9. file — a document
  10. roll — on a roll
  11. fall — the season
  12. roll — a list
  13. fall — to drop
  14. wax — to grow
  15. fall — to drop
  16. lean — thin
  17. lean — to rest against
  18. kick — with a leg
  19. wax — in the ear
  20. file — a line of people
  21. bulb — for light
  22. wax — for sculpting
  23. scale — in music
  24. lean — to bend

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