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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: file · row · bulb · wax · kick · degree · club · stock

  1. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  4. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  5. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. I've got to change the light ________________.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  17. The light ________________ burned out.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — of a plant
  2. stock — goods
  3. kick — in football
  4. kick — a thrill
  5. club — a group
  6. file — a document
  7. bulb — for light
  8. degree — an amount
  9. kick — with a leg
  10. stock — shares
  11. file — a line of people
  12. club — for golf
  13. row — a line
  14. degree — from a university
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. club — for dancing
  17. bulb — for light
  18. degree — temperature
  19. wax — to grow
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. wax — for sculpting
  23. file — a tool
  24. row — to paddle

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