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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: saw · cold · wind · pitcher · bulb · bear · wax · cell

  1. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. The light ________________ burned out.
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  12. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  15. I've got to change the light ________________.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  19. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  20. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  21. He works in a ________________ mill.
  22. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  23. She's very handy with a ________________.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. wax — to grow
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. cold — an illness
  5. cell — in biology
  6. bulb — for light
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. cold — not warm
  9. wind — moving air
  10. cell — a phone
  11. bear — the animal
  12. bear — the animal
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. bear — to put up with
  15. bulb — for light
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. bulb — of a plant
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. wax — for sculpting
  21. saw — the tool
  22. saw — past of 'see'
  23. saw — the tool
  24. wind — moving air

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