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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 · content · rush · fork · bulb · mark · cold · stick

  1. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  2. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  4. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  5. I've got to change the light ________________.
  6. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  9. That must've been a ________________.
  10. The light ________________ burned out.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  20. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. rush — hurry
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. mark — to pay attention
  5. bulb — for light
  6. fork — a garden tool
  7. cold — an illness
  8. fork — to eat with
  9. rush — a thrill
  10. bulb — for light
  11. content — happy
  12. wax — to grow
  13. content — the amount
  14. mark — a trace
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. cold — not warm
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. rush — to hurry
  20. bulb — of a plant
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. mark — a grade
  23. fork — in a road
  24. stick — to attach or keep to

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