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

Word bank: wax · season · plane · roll · bulb · fall · land · kid

  1. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. I've got to change the light ________________.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  5. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. The light ________________ burned out.
  9. We're on a ________________ here.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  12. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. The ________________ took off on time.
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  19. Did you ________________ the meat?
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  22. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. bulb — for light
  3. land — ground
  4. roll — a cake
  5. roll — a list
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. fall — to drop
  8. bulb — for light
  9. roll — on a roll
  10. land — a country
  11. fall — to drop
  12. plane — in geometry
  13. land — to come down
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. plane — an aircraft
  16. wax — to grow
  17. plane — a tool
  18. season — in sport
  19. season — to add flavour
  20. kid — child
  21. bulb — of a plant
  22. season — of the year
  23. fall — the season
  24. kid — to tease

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