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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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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: wax · cell · present · bulb · perch · land · mine · wound

  1. The light ________________ burned out.
  2. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  9. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. I've got to change the light ________________.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  14. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  18. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. present — there
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. land — to come down
  5. land — a country
  6. cell — a phone
  7. wound — an injury
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. wound — an injury
  11. bulb — for light
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. present — a gift
  14. bulb — of a plant
  15. land — ground
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. perch — the fish
  18. present — the time now
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. cell — in biology
  23. wax — to grow
  24. mine — for digging

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