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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: mouse · file · shower · bulb · foot · wax · cold · ground

  1. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  8. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  9. The light ________________ burned out.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. I've got to change the light ________________.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — the bottom
  2. cold — not warm
  3. foot — part of the body
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. cold — an illness
  6. file — a line of people
  7. foot — a measure
  8. mouse — for a computer
  9. bulb — for light
  10. ground — crushed
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. bulb — of a plant
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. shower — rain
  15. file — a tool
  16. ground — a position
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. wax — to grow
  19. shower — to wash
  20. bulb — for light
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. ground — the earth
  23. file — a document
  24. mouse — the animal

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