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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: field · bulb · cold · kid · cabinet · temple · race · wax

  1. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  2. The light ________________ burned out.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  16. When was this ________________ built?
  17. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. I've got to change the light ________________.
  21. What do you think of the new ________________?
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — of a plant
  2. bulb — for light
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. race — a contest
  5. cabinet — a cupboard
  6. cold — not warm
  7. kid — to tease
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. field — farmland
  10. field — a subject
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. race — humankind
  13. race — the arms race
  14. kid — child
  15. temple — side of the head
  16. temple — a place of worship
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. wax — to grow
  19. cold — an illness
  20. bulb — for light
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. field — for sport
  23. temple — a place of worship
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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