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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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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: lean · bulb · kick · kid · clip · face · shower · wax

  1. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  2. I've got to change the light ________________.
  3. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  22. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. The light ________________ burned out.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to rest against
  2. bulb — for light
  3. lean — thin
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. bulb — of a plant
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. kick — in football
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. kid — to tease
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. lean — to bend
  12. kid — child
  13. kick — with a leg
  14. clip — for paper
  15. shower — rain
  16. shower — to wash
  17. wax — to grow
  18. face — to point toward
  19. clip — a video
  20. clip — to cut
  21. kick — a thrill
  22. face — to confront
  23. face — part of the head
  24. bulb — for light

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