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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.

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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 · cold · bay · fork · perch · staff · wax · tear

  1. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  2. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. The light ________________ burned out.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. My mare is ________________ in color.
  10. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  11. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  12. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  13. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  14. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  15. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  16. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  20. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. I've got to change the light ________________.
  23. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  24. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. bulb — of a plant
  3. cold — not warm
  4. tear — from crying
  5. bulb — for light
  6. cold — an illness
  7. tear — from crying
  8. tear — to rip
  9. bay — a horse colour
  10. staff — employees
  11. staff — employees
  12. staff — a stick
  13. fork — to eat with
  14. bay — a part of the sea
  15. perch — the fish
  16. bay — to keep at bay
  17. fork — in a road
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. fork — a garden tool
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. bulb — for light
  23. wax — for sculpting
  24. perch — for a bird

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