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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: spring · cold · can · leaves · hand · bulb · ground · wax

  1. I've got to change the light ________________.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. The light ________________ burned out.
  12. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  18. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  21. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  22. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. ground — a position
  3. can — a tin
  4. ground — the earth
  5. spring — of water
  6. hand — help
  7. spring — the season
  8. wax — to grow
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. spring — a coil
  11. bulb — for light
  12. can — to be able to
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. hand — in cards
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. can — a tin
  18. leaves — to go away
  19. cold — an illness
  20. ground — crushed
  21. bulb — of a plant
  22. leaves — of a tree
  23. cold — not warm
  24. leaves — lets stay

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