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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 120 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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: wind · patient · calf · ground · cabinet · wax · kid · bulb

  1. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  10. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  11. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. What do you think of the new ________________?
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. The light ________________ burned out.
  20. I've got to change the light ________________.
  21. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. kid — to tease
  3. calf — of the leg
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. kid — child
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. cabinet — a cupboard
  11. patient — calm and waiting
  12. wax — to grow
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. ground — the earth
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. wind — moving air
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. ground — a position
  19. bulb — for light
  20. bulb — for light
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. ground — crushed
  23. wind — moving air
  24. bulb — of a plant

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