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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.

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: chest · wax · plane · bulb · swing · rash · root · bat

  1. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  3. I've got to change the light ________________.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. The light ________________ burned out.
  7. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  8. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  9. The ________________ took off on time.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  19. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  20. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. root — the cause
  3. bulb — for light
  4. chest — of your body
  5. swing — to play on
  6. bulb — for light
  7. swing — music
  8. plane — a tool
  9. plane — an aircraft
  10. bat — the animal
  11. root — of a plant
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. wax — to grow
  14. swing — in golf
  15. rash — hasty
  16. rash — a series
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. plane — in geometry
  19. bulb — of a plant
  20. root — of a word
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. chest — a box
  24. chest — of your body

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