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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: jam · fan · wax · stem · pound · bulb · game · clip

  1. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  4. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  5. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  10. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  11. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  12. The light ________________ burned out.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. I've got to change the light ________________.
  22. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  23. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. stem — of a plant
  4. bulb — of a plant
  5. pound — to hit hard
  6. clip — a video
  7. jam — in traffic
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. fan — to cool the air
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. pound — for dogs
  12. bulb — for light
  13. clip — to cut
  14. wax — to grow
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. clip — for paper
  17. jam — to spread on bread
  18. game — wild animals
  19. jam — a tight spot
  20. game — a match
  21. bulb — for light
  22. stem — to come from
  23. pound — a weight
  24. stem — a stem cell

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