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

  1. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  2. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  3. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  19. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  20. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  21. That was ________________ to happen.
  22. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — to eat
  2. root — the cause
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. bound — tied together
  6. cold — an illness
  7. ground — a position
  8. band — a music group
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. band — a ring
  11. chip — in a computer
  12. ground — crushed
  13. wax — to grow
  14. perch — the fish
  15. cold — not warm
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. ground — the earth
  18. bound — obliged
  19. chip — for betting
  20. wax — for sculpting
  21. bound — certain
  22. root — of a plant
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. root — of a word

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