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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. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  2. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  10. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  19. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  20. You don't need to ________________ round.
  21. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  22. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  23. We're almost out of ________________.
  24. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — a stick
  2. race — humankind
  3. staff — employees
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. race — a contest
  6. kid — to tease
  7. race — the arms race
  8. kid — child
  9. staff — employees
  10. scale — size or range
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. scale — in music
  13. pop — music
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. wax — for sculpting
  16. wax — to grow
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. root — of a word
  19. root — of a plant
  20. pop — to visit
  21. pitch — completely
  22. pitch — a sports field
  23. pop — soda
  24. root — the cause

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