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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: wax · sharp · cold · bulb · row · bat · dip · net

  1. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  2. The light ________________ burned out.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  7. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. I've got to change the light ________________.
  11. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  12. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. row — to paddle
  2. bulb — for light
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. net — in sport
  5. net — after costs
  6. dip — to sink
  7. dip — a sauce
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. cold — an illness
  10. bulb — for light
  11. bulb — of a plant
  12. sharp — clever
  13. wax — to grow
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. bat — the animal
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. cold — not warm
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. dip — to dunk
  21. row — a line
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. net — for catching

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