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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: file · rush · chair · rash · bulb · jam · kid · wax

  1. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  5. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  6. Don't do anything ________________.
  7. I've got to change the light ________________.
  8. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. The light ________________ burned out.
  17. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. That must've been a ________________.
  22. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  23. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. kid — child
  3. file — a document
  4. rush — hurry
  5. rash — on the skin
  6. rash — hasty
  7. bulb — for light
  8. wax — to grow
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. bulb — of a plant
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. chair — a leader
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. file — a tool
  16. bulb — for light
  17. jam — to spread on bread
  18. rash — a series
  19. jam — in traffic
  20. kid — to tease
  21. rush — a thrill
  22. rush — to hurry
  23. jam — a tight spot
  24. file — a line of people

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