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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
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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 · ball · chip · row · cold · bulb · mark · field

  1. I've got to change the light ________________.
  2. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  3. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  7. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. The King held a masked ________________.
  19. The light ________________ burned out.
  20. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  21. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. chip — in a computer
  3. chip — to eat
  4. field — farmland
  5. field — a subject
  6. mark — to pay attention
  7. chip — for betting
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. cold — not warm
  10. mark — a grade
  11. row — to paddle
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. bulb — of a plant
  14. wax — to grow
  15. field — for sport
  16. cold — an illness
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. ball — a dance
  19. bulb — for light
  20. ball — a great time
  21. mark — a trace
  22. row — a line
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. ball — a round shape

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