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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 120 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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  7. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  12. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  13. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  14. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  15. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  16. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  17. The ________________ took off on time.
  18. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. cue — for pool
  3. chest — of your body
  4. wax — to grow
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. plane — a tool
  7. cue — a hint
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. kick — with a leg
  10. chest — a box
  11. cue — a signal
  12. root — the cause
  13. kick — in football
  14. plane — in geometry
  15. root — of a plant
  16. root — of a word
  17. plane — an aircraft
  18. wax — in the ear

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