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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
468
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: field · wax · leaves · swing · perch · deal · bulb · court

  1. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  4. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  5. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  6. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  14. The light ________________ burned out.
  15. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  16. I've got to change the light ________________.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. swing — to play on
  3. leaves — of a tree
  4. bulb — of a plant
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. deal — to handle
  7. court — of a king
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. field — a subject
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. court — for sport
  12. swing — in golf
  13. leaves — lets stay
  14. bulb — for light
  15. deal — an agreement
  16. bulb — for light
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. leaves — to go away
  19. court — of law
  20. deal — a big deal
  21. field — for sport
  22. field — farmland
  23. swing — music
  24. perch — the fish

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