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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 · fork · march · sharp · bulb · scale · net · foot

  1. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. I've got to change the light ________________.
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  6. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  7. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  8. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. The light ________________ burned out.
  13. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  14. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  23. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. bulb — for light
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. scale — size or range
  5. bulb — of a plant
  6. scale — in music
  7. foot — part of the body
  8. foot — a measure
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. net — for catching
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. bulb — for light
  13. fork — to eat with
  14. wax — for sculpting
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. wax — to grow
  17. march — music
  18. march — the month
  19. net — in sport
  20. net — after costs
  21. sharp — clever
  22. fork — a garden tool
  23. foot — the bottom
  24. fork — in a road

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