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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: bulb · march · chest · net · wax · cold · charge · patient

  1. The water is too ________________.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. I've got to change the light ________________.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. The tickets are free of ________________.
  13. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. The light ________________ burned out.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  24. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. net — after costs
  3. bulb — for light
  4. chest — of your body
  5. march — the month
  6. cold — an illness
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. bulb — of a plant
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. charge — a price
  13. patient — calm and waiting
  14. chest — of your body
  15. wax — to grow
  16. net — for catching
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. march — music
  19. bulb — for light
  20. net — in sport
  21. march — the month
  22. chest — a box
  23. charge — electricity
  24. charge — in control

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